^>  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *Q 


BX  7795   .K52  A3  1860 
King,  Elizabeth  Taber,  1820 
1856. 

Memoir  of  Elizabeth  T.  King 


4 


/ 

(     JAN  9  19 

MEMOI R W 

VESICAL  Stjj 

OF 

ELIZABETH  T.  KING. 

WTTII  EXTRACTS 

FROM  HER 

LETTERS  AND  JOURNAL. 


SECOND  EDITION, 


BALTIMORE: 
ARMSTRONG    &  BERRY. 

1  860. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
FRANCIS   T.  KING, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  State  of  Maryland. 


ELECTROTTPED  BY  PRINTED  BT 

T.  B.  Smith  &  Son,  Baker  &  God-win 

S2  &  84  Beekman  Street.  1  Spruce  Street 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  adaptation  of  the  Gospel  to  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  men,  is  one  of  the  most  convincing  proofs 
of  its  divine  origin.  It  is  addressed  to  all  men  everv- 
■where;  and  while  to  all  it  teaches  the  same  great  truths 
with  undeniable  authority,  while  it  changes  the  whole 
purpose  and  bent  of  the  mind,  it  yet  leaves  many  trails 
of  individual  character,  modified  and  controlled,  but  still 
distinctive,  to  work  out,  in  conformity  with  the  Divine 
Will,  the  ends  which  they  were  designed  to  accomplish. 
If  it  was  one  of  its  characteristics  that  it  was  preached 
to  the  poor,  it  no  less  effectively  charged  the  rich  that 
their  trust  should  be  in  "the  living  God."  If  its  deepest 
mysteries  were  opened  to  unlearned  and  ignorant  men, 
one  of  its  chosen  vessels  was  a  man  profoundly  versed  in 
the  philosophy  of  his  age  and  country.    It  is  instructive 


IV 


INTRODUCTORY. 


to  find  the  man  of  low  degree,  whether  in  social  position 
or  in  intellectual  culture,  elevated  by  the  influence  of 
the  Gospel  to  a  high  rank  among  the  benefactors  of 
mankind;  nor  is  it  less  so  to  see  the  brightest  minds 
humbled  under  the  same  controlling  power,  and  using 
their  gifts  with  the  same  results.  But  if  it  be  so  in  the 
extremes  of  human  condition,  how  much  more  may  we 
expect  to  find  the  middle  walks  of  life  filled  with  the 
same  conclusive  evidence  of  the  universality  of  Divine 
Grace ! 

If  we  were  asked  what  is  the  especial  teaching  in  the 
following  memoir,  we  should  say,  the  fruitfuli) ess  of  a 
life  controlled  by  the  Gospel. 

That  our  friend  had  very  considerable  natural  en- 
dowments, that  her  tastes  were  refined  and  her  intellect 
strengthened  b}^  culture,  that  she  had  a  lively  imagina- 
tion, and  that  early  associations  had  called  it  into  active 
exercise,  no  one  will  doubt  who  peruses  these  pages. 
That  with  these  qualities  were  combined,  a  shrinking 
sensitiveness  which  attached  her  closely  to  her  friends, 
but  seemed  likely  to  lead  her  in  more  private  walks,  is 
equally  obvious.    To  what,  then,  is  it  owing  that  this 


INTRODUCTORY. 


V 


brief  record  of  one  thus  fitted  for  "  the  cool  sequestered 
vale  of  life,"  has  been  found  attractive  to  so  many  under 
very  different  circumstances  ?  There  is  but  one  answer  : 
on  every  page  stands  the  impress  of  a  life  controlled  by 
the  power  of  the  Gospel.  How  many  of  equal  talent, 
of  wider  and  higher  culture,  and  with  her  gentleness  and 
personal  attractions,  have  passed  through  a  lengthened 
course  of  social  intercourse,  beloved  and  respected,  yet 
have  left  behind  them  nothing  which  could  strengthen 
the  weak,  encourage  the  fearful,  or  meliorate  the  con- 
dition of  survivors ! 

It  may  not  be  useless  to  dwell  for  a  few  moments  on 
the  gradual  unfolding  of  religious  character,  as  presented 
to  us  in  the  following  memoir.  Attractive  as  was  her 
childhood,  it  will  be  remarked  that  a  great  change  came 
over  her.  "What  has  changed  you  so?"  said  an  inti- 
mate friend ;  and  her  reply  presents  with  touching  sim- 
plicity, the  brief  record  of  her  early  religious  experience. 
She  now  longs  "  for  the  quiet  habitation  which  He  pro- 
vides," and  "  is  thankful  beyond  measure  for  the  still 
waters"  she  once  despised.  The  sense  of  her  own 
weaknesses  becomes  intensely  painful, — what  she  deems 


vi 


INTRODUCTORY. 


her  "  impatient  temper  and  tendency  to  self-indulgence." 
She  desires  "  to  walk  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all  the  day 
long,"  and  does  not  even  dare  "to  ask  for  temporal 
blessings,"  but  only  "  for  food  convenient  for  her."  To 
her  who  tremblingly  rejoices  in  the  opening  visions  of  a 
higher  existence,  devotion  to  worldly  wisdom  seems  de- 
grading. She  brings  everything  to  the  test  of  its  bear- 
ing upon  the  soul's  eternal  interests. 

In  the  imdst  of  society,  and  with  true  enjoyment  of 
it,  she  begins  to  feel  keenly  her  responsibility  for  such 
influence  as  she  may  exert.  But  not  a  thought  of  ascet- 
icism mixes  with  her  sense  of  surrounding  temptations. 
Her  trust  is  in  "  The  Father  who  cares  for  his  rebellious 
children ;"  and  so  trusting,  she  watches  over  herself, 
guards  her  conversation,  is  frequent  in  retirement ;  and 
the  result  is  the  heartfelt  exclamation  :  "  Oar  Saviour  ! 
how  blessed  is  the  sound !  may  I  be  guided  every  mo- 
ment by  his  Spirit,  and  be  kept  from  sin  of  every  kind 
or  degree !"  She  who  to  others  seemed  so  gentle  and  so 
humble,  records  that  she  has  continually  to  struggle 
against  pride  and  selfishness,  and  adds,  "  Oh,  for  the  rest 
of  true  humility!"  and  as  though  she  had  found  it, 


INTRODUCTO R Y  . 


vii 


quotes  the  beautiful  words  of  Joliu  Crooke  :  "  None  are 
so  weary  but  he  takes  care  of  them — so  tender  is  this 
Good  Shepherd  over  his  flock;' 

That  great  change  in  woman's  life,  when  she  passes 
from  the  home  of  her  childhood  to  rule  over  her  own 
household,  does  not  alter  the  purposes  for  which  she 
lives.  Her  earnest  prayer  is,  "  Satisfy,  if  it  please  Thee, 
the  desire  which  we  believe  Thou  hast  created  in  our 
souls  for  more  holiness  and  greater  usefulness ;"  and  that 
she  may  walk  in  the  path  of  humility  and  self-denial. 
She  is  the  light  of  her  husband's  house.  Every  fresh 
experience  of  the  love  and  mercy  of  her  Heavenly 
Father,  lends  greater  earnestness  to  her  efforts  for  the 
well-being  of  those  who  are  dearer  to  her  than  herself; 
and  the  love  which  has  its  center  at  home,  expands  in 
widening  circles  to  all  the  children  of  that  common 
Fa  her. 

Such  are  the  springs  of  action.  If  humiliations 
abound,  and  the  way  does  not  seem  open  for  active 
efforts,  she  remembers,  "  it  may  be  that  pride  and  self- 
love  mingle  with  our  desires  for  usefulness  even  in  the 
Church,"  and  rejoices  in  the  willingness  which  has  been 


viii 


INTRODUCTORY. 


granted  to  her  "  to  be  nothing."  She  feels  the  necessity 
of  being  faithful  to  the  law  and  the  testimony,  but  fer- 
vently desires  "  that  she  may  in  nowise  depart  from  a 
loving  and  charitable  spirit,"  equally  removed  from 
excess  of  liberality  and  from  bigotry. 

It  is  not  an  easy  thing  to  keep  a  record  of  daily 
spiritual  progress.  To  comparatively  few,  indeed,  is  it 
safe.  The  few  entries  made  by  the  subject  of  this 
memoir  are  marked  by  great  simplicity. 

The  struggle  which  it  cost  her  to  address  a  few  poor 
women  at  the  Penitentiary,  and  the  peace  which  fol- 
lowed, preceded  that  call  to  the  more  public  ministry 
which  the  Society  of  Friends  believes  is  not  designed  to 
be  limited  to  one  sex.  Painfully  sensitive  as  she  was, 
with  the  keenest  appreciation  of  the  gracefu'ness  of  the 
life  of  woman  passed  in  the  bosom  of  her  own  family, 
her  friends  could  not  but  know  that  the  exposure  of 
speaking  in  meetings  for  Divine  Worship  must  ba  one  of 
her  severest  trials.  She  has  herself  briefly  alluded  to 
this  struggle  ;  none  who  knew  her  can  doubt  that  her 
words  fall  far  short  of  a  full  record  of  the  intensity  of 
her  feeling.    Happily,  she  had  already  learned  submit 


INTRODUCTORY. 


ix 


eion  to  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  and  now  "her  will 
was  subdued,  her  reasoning  quieted,  and  she  was  made 
wiling  to  give  up  all  in  the  obedience  of  Faith."  In 
reference  to  an  early  experience  of  this  kind,  she  tells 
us,  "  It  was  a  little  thing  to  do  for  Him  ;  neither  could 
I  have  done  it  without  llis  power ;  it  was  all  his  work, 
yet  he  rewards  so  sweetly.  In  my  great  debility  I  have 
been  folded  like  a  weary  child  in  the  arms  of  infinite 
Love  and  Compassion." 

But  while  she  is  thus  called  to  serve  her  Lord  more 
publicly,  in  no  respect  does  this  lessen  the  sense  of  social 
duties.  She  had  read  much  and  variously,  and  though 
now  restrained  from  some  reading  not  in  itself  objection- 
able, because  it  recalled  feelings  which  had  too  much  en- 
grossed her,  she  was  still  familiar  with  the  best  of  our 
current  literature.  Her  acquirements  of  every  kind  are 
laid  upon  the  altar  of  her  Lord.  In  society  she  finds 
frequent  occasions  to  make  herself  attractive  and  useful 
to  her  young  friends  by  th.3  judicious  use  of  the  know- 
ledge she  has  stored  or  the  tastes  she  has  cultivated. 
How  delightful  would  our  social  circles  become,  and  how 
elevating  their  influence,  were  all  our  gifts  used  there 


X 


INTRODUCTORY. 


under  the  sense  of  responsibility,  and  in  that  true  hu- 
mility which  our  friend  brought  into  them  ! 

One  other  result  <jf  deepening  religious  experience 
may  be  alluded  to.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of  the 
religious  Society  of  Friends.  Its  distinguishing  doctrines 
and  practices  were  familiar  to  her  from  her  infancy ;  but 
they  were  openly  acknowledged  and  carried  into  her  daily 
life  from  a  settled  conviction  of  their  consistency  with 
the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  because  all  her  own 
religious  experience  confirmed  that  conviction.  While 
thus  consistently  adhering  to  the  principles  of  this  body 
of  Christian  professors,  the  gift  which  had  been  the  ob- 
ject of  her  early  aspirations  was  granted  to  her — a  lov- 
ing and  charitable  spirit.  Like  John  Woolman,  she 
found  no  narrowness  in  regard  to  sects.  In  truth,  much 
of  her  appreciation  of  the  good  in  others  who  differed 
from  her,  was  the  result  of  her  steadfast  adherence  to  her 
own  religious  convictions.  She  had  learned  from  experi- 
ence, that  there  was  no  peace  but  in  the  performance  of 
duty  as  it  was  made  known  to  her  ;  and  therefore  did  she 
the  more  readily  draw  near,  in  spirit,  to  those  who, 
under  different  religious  professions,  were  similarly  en- 


INTRODUCTORY. 


xi 


gaged.  Thi<  feeling  increases  as  she  nears  the  goal.  "  I 
am  not  at  all  sectarian,"  she  writes  to  a  young  friend  ; 
"  but  I  do  like  to  see  a  man  capable  of  real,  honest,  ear- 
nest appreciation  of  goodness  and  of  elevation  of  feeling 
and  character  wherever  he  meets  it." 

We  may  well  close  these  somewhat  desultory  notices 
with  the  eloquent  words  of  one  whose  own  life  and  death 
afforded  striking  illustrations  of  the  beautiful  sentiments 
which  they  convey  : 

"  There  is  one  branch  of  study  which  deserves  espe- 
cially to  be  recommended,  as  not  only  forming  a  most 
valuable  part  of  Church  history,  but  as  amounting  almost 
to  a  devotional  exercise  at  the  same  time  ;  I  mean  the 
biography  of  good  Christians  of  all  ages ;  and  above  all, 
whenever  it  is  to  be  obtained,  their  owTn  expression  of 
their  spiritual  wants  and  affections  and  the  record  of 
their  deaths.  It  is  not  d>  sirable  to  think  that  error  is 
truth  or  foolishness  wisdom  because  a  good  man  has 
uttered  it.  But  it  is  even  less  desirable  that  our  sense  of 
his  errors  or  fooli-hness  should  destroy  our  sympathy 
with  his  goodness.  The  pursuit  of  ecclesiastical  history 
will  necessarily  show  us  too  much  of  the  quarrels  and 


xii 


INTRODUCTORY. 


infirmities  of  Christians  ;  it  is  most  wholesome  to  turn 
to  a  picture  which  will  display  their  union  and  their 
strength.  And  in  those  portions  of  good  men's  lives 
which  exhibit  them  in  their  direct  relations  towards  God, 
opening  their  hearts  before  Him,  convinced  of  their  own 
sin  and  of  His  mercy  in  Christ,  showing  the  true  marks 
of  Christ's  servants,  a  quick  and  tender  conscience  and 
an  entire  trust  in  God  ;  we  see  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
countries,  the  true  unity  of  Christ's  Spirit — the  true 
agreement  of  Christ's  people.  Or  again,  if  in  the  lives 
and  writings  of  Christians  we  have  found  too  many 
marks  of  human  weakness,  marks  which  show  that  they 
are  still  surrounded  with  this  world's  infirmities;  yet 
how  delightful  is  it  to  watch  them  in  their  deaths, 
when,  being  delivered  from  their  several  temptations, 
their  lamps  are  seen  to  burn  with  the  same  heavenly 
brilliance,  inasmuch  as  all  are  fed  by  the  same  oil  ! 
There  the  weak  mind  has  parted  with  its  weakness,  the 
angry  with  its  over-vehemence ;  there  the  narrow- 
minded  learns  the  largeness  of  God's  love,  and  the  under- 
standing which  perhaps  had  felt  too  keen  a  conscious- 
ness of  its  power,  is  softened  by  the  overwhelming  sense 


INTRODUCTORY. 


xiii 


of  God's  perfections,  now  more  clearly  discerned.  So  in 
all  Christ  is  glorified,  and  we  can  perceive  even  here 
the  beginnings  of  that  perfect  communion  in  which,  all 
shades  of  difference  being  melted  away,  Christ's  servants 
will  be  one  for  forever  in  Ilim  and  in  the  Father." 


MEMOIR. 


In  attempting  a  brief  memoir  of  one 
so  dearly  loved,  much  hesitation  has  been 
felt  while  lifting  the  veil,  and  exposing  to 
view,  the  inner  life  of  our  sensitive,  shrink- 
ing friend.  Yet  it  has  seemed  that  a  de- 
scription of  her  life  of  faith,  and  whole- 
hearted dedication  to  the  service  of  her 
Master,  was  called  for  as  a  testimony  to  the 
efficacy  of  that  grace,  by  which  she  was 
enabled  to  become  what  she  was ;  and  as 
an  encouragement  to  others  to  follow  as 
implicitly  as  she  did,  the  Captain  of  their 
soul's  salvation,  and  thus  be  made  more 
than  conquerors  through  Him. 


4 


MEMOIR  OF 


Elizabeth  T.  King  was  the  daughter  of 
William  C.  and  Hannah  T.  Taber,  and  was 
born  in  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  on 
the  18th  of  7th  month,  1820. 

From  childhood  she  was  remarkable  for 
a  loving,  sympathetic  disposition,  which 
rendered  her  thoughtful  of  the  comfort  of 
others,  and  attentive  to  their  wishes. 

Yery  diffident  and  retiring,  she  seemed 
entirely  unconscious  of  her  own  power  of 
winning  affection,  and  was  disposed  to 
shrink  from  observation.  But,  while  gen- 
tle and  yielding  where  principle  was  not 
involved,  she  was  firm  in  her  impressions 
of  duty,  and  earnest  in  their  fulfillment. 

Richly  endowed  with  intellectual  gifts,  it 
was  her  delight  to  cultivate  them,  and  for 
some  time  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  was 
very  absorbing.  The  facility  with  which 
her  tasks  were  acquired,  together  with  her 
gentle   disposition,  and   strict  integrity, 


ELIZABETH    T .  KING, 


5 


rendered  her  a  favorite  with  her  teachers, 
and  her  school-days  were  passed  with 
pleasure  and  success. 

Her  love  of  the  beautiful  was  early  de- 
veloped, and  she  was  ever  ready  to  appre- 
ciate it  wherever  it  existed.  This  faculty 
opened  another  and  lasting  source  of  hap- 
piness, which  elevated  her  spirit,  and  in- 
sensibly gave  a  tone  to  her  feelings.  To 
her  every  thing  in  nature  had  a  language, 
from  the  delicate  flowers  and  grasses  in 
the  meadows,  to  the  splendor  of  the  sun- 
set sky,  or  the  grandeur  of  the  ocean. 

In  later  years  her  enjoyment  of  these 
beauties  was  chastened  and  enhanced  by 
her  supreme  love  for  their  Divine  Author, 
and  while  admiring  their  beauty  and  sub- 
limity, she  turned  with  loving  confidence 
to  Him  who  spread  them  forth,  being 
able  to  say,  "My  Father  made  them  all." 

To  a  person  of  her  imaginative  tempera- 


6 


MEMOIR  OF 


ment  and  refined  taste,  poetry  could  not 
fail  to  be  attractive,  and  her  own  pen  was 
often  employed  in  thus  expressing  her 
feelings.  Her  timidity  and  self-distrust 
were,  however,  so  great,  that  most  of  her 
youthful  efforts  were  destroyed. 

The  traits  noticeable  in  childhood  in- 
creased with  her  riper  years,  and  her  mem- 
ory well  stored  with  incident,  her  agree- 
able manner  of  expression,  and  the  re- 
fined taste  which  instinctively  selected 
whatever  was  valuable,  rendered  her  so- 
ciety very  attractive. 

Those  who  knew  her,  will  well  remember 
the  charm  of  her  gentle  voice  and  manner, 
her  speaking  eye  lighted  up  by  the  mind 
within,  and  the  irresistible  influence  she 
exerted  on  all  around.  This  was  remarka- 
ble through  life,  and  as  her  mind  matured, 
and  other  thoughts  and  feelings  gave  place 
to  the  desire  of  consecrating  her  all  to  God, 


ML  18.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  7 

these  powers,  chastened  and  refined  by 
grace,  rendered  her  indeed  a  polished  in- 
strument in  her  Master's  service. 

The  winter  of  1838  was  passed  in  Phil- 
adelphia at  school,  where  her  health  was 
so  much  injured  by  severe  application  as 
to  occasion  her  return  home.  For  some 
time  serious  apprehensions  were  felt  by 
her  friends  lest  the  injury  should  be  per- 
manent ;  but  at  length  she  was  restored 
to  comparative  health,  and  with  return- 
ing strength,  her  desire  for  usefulness  in- 
creased. 

Her  own  description  of  her  feelings  at 
this  time  was  thus  given  to  a  dearly  loved 
friend: — 

New  Bedford,  5  mo.,  8th,  1839. 
Shall  I  confess  that  the  prospect  of  returning 
health  has  a  tinge  of  melancholy  with  its  joy. 
To  the  humblest  among  us  life  has  fearful  re- 
sponsibilities, and  now  I  almost  shrink,  as  I  stand 


8 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  19. 


upon  the  threshold,  and  view  its  cares  and  vex- 
ations again  ready  to  assail  me. 

I  have  suffered  much  since  I  left  you,  but 
the  winter  has  passed  almost  happily  ;  for,  in  all 
that  I  have  experienced,  I  have  been  confirmed 
in  my  favorite  Wordsworth's  beautiful  belief, 

'  Naught  shall  prevail  against  us,  nor  disturb 
Our  cheerful  faith,  that  all  which  we  behold 
Is  full  of  blessings;' 

which  is  only  another  version  of  the  promise  we 
have  from  higher  authority,  '  All  things  shall 
work  together  for  good.'  I  will  try  to  feel  this 
accomplished  in  health  as  well  as  in  sickness, 
and  fulfill  the  only  wish  I  have  ever  felt  about 
my  future  life,  that  I  might  not  live  in  vain. 

4  mo.,  13th,  1841. 

I  am  free  to  confess  that  my  attachment  to 
the  principles  of  our  Society  has  increased  of 
late.  In  trying  to  be  quiet,  and  to  put  every  thing 
aside  that  would  tend  to  cloud  our  vision  (and 
manifold  are  these  hinderances),  I  think  the  way 
gradually  but  surely  grows  light  before  us,  and 
we  are  led  almost  insensibly  along.  I  believe, 
too,  that  as  we  sincerely  desire  to  yield  perfect 


JEt  20.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  9 


obedience,  those  things  which  we  had  not  cour- 
age enough  to  resolve  to  do  for  ourselves  are 
done  for  us,  and  we  bless  God  for  the  chastening 
which  mercy  dictated.  c  I  am  tired  of  strug- 
gling,' said  a  friend  to  me  the  other  day.  As  if 
our  life  could  be  any  thing  but  a  perpetual  war- 
fare, the  good  and  the  evil  so  strive  together. 
But  it  matters  not  whether  our  lot  be  one  of  joy 
or  sorrow,  if  we  only  reach  home  at  last.  It 
may  not  be  sinful  to  look  with  earnest  yet  pa- 
tient desires  to  the  haven  where  the  weary  are  at 
rest.  I  think  of  thee  very  often,  with  strong  in- 
terest and  sympathy,  knowing  that  thy  trials  are 
great  and  peculiar.  When  flesh  and  heart  fail, 
there  is  but  one  Refuge,  and  the  conviction  that 
He  liveth  who  pities  as  a  father  pitieth  his  chil- 
dren ;  that  He  sees  and  knows  all — every  bitter 
and  weary  struggle,  every  desire,  however  faint, 
for  conformity  to  His  will,  and  that  in  His  own 
time  He  will  arise  and  deliver  from  the  domin- 
ion of  the  torturing  thoughts  and  anxieties  which 

so  oppress  us.    Ah,  dear  ,  if  we  always  felt 

this  faith,  the  sting  of  the  deepest  earthly  sorrow 
would  be  removed. 


10 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JKt  20. 


To  a  schoolmate  with  whom  she  had 
long  corresponded : — 

6  mo.,  2T,  1841. 

"With  respect  to  what  thou  says  about  myself, 
dear,  I  acknowledge  that  I. am  now  desirous  to 
resign  all,  but  do  not  in  the  least  deserve  what 
thou  says  of  me.  There  are  few  of  us  but  must 
put  up  the  petition, 

'  Forgive  me  that  all  else  was  tried 
Before  I  came  to  Thee.' 

And  it  is  scarcely  till  we  have  proved  the  utter 
weariness  and  weakness  of  every  earthly  depend- 
ence, that  we  come  where  alone  we  are  sure  of 
aid  and  rest.  Thanks,  then,  and  praise  be  alone 
to  Him  who  dims  the  glory  of  this  world  be- 
fore our  vision,  and  if  in  joy  we  forget  Him, 
sends  us  heavy  sorrows,  which,  nevertheless,  He 
will  heal  and  comfort  as  we  endeavor  not  only  to 
submit,  but  to  acquiesce  in  His  will.  There  is 
only  one  real  comfort  in  life,  and  that  is  trying 
to  do  right.  May  we,  my  dear  ,  go  on  to- 
gether in  the  path  in  which  we  are  called  to 
walk,  though  it  be  one  of  sorrow  and  humilia- 


JEt.  20.J       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  11 

tion.  Those  who  are  clothed  in  white  robes  and 
sing  praises  around  the  throne  of  the  Lamb,  are 
those  who  have  come  out  of  great  tribulation. 
That  such  a  time  should  come,  that  there  should 
be  a  mansion  which  sickness  and  sorrow,  and 
above  all  that  sin  and  temptation  shall  never  en- 
ter— that  we  should  ever  enjoy  the  fullness  of 
His  love  and  presence,  whom  in  weakness  we 
have  endeavored  to  follow,  is  surely  enough  to 
lighten  every  burden. 

To  a  former  schoolmate  and  intimate 
friend  : — 

12  mo.,  27th,  1841. 

I  heard  a  lecture  from  E.  K.  Peabody  the 
other  eve  on  Ecclesiastical  History.  It  was  very 
interesting,  embracing  a  comprehensive  view  of 
church  government,  from  the  time  and  primitive 
simplicity  of  the  apostles,  to  that  when  the  papal 
power  reached  its  height,  under  Gregory  VII. 
and  Innocent  III.,  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries.  If  thou  had  been  here  I  should  have 
taken  thee  with  me.    The  building  in  which  the 


12 


MEMOIR  01' 


[Mt  20. 


lecture  was  delivered  is  certainly  magnificent, 

but,  as  I  told  ,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  any 

combinations  of  wood  and  stone  to  produce  emo- 
tions of  grandeur  and  sublimity  in  my  mind. 
Human  sympathies  must  cluster  around  any  ob- 
ject to  render  it  interesting  to  me,  and  only  spir- 
itual and  intellectual  elevation  gives  me  the  feel- 
ing of  the  sublime.  Nature,  it  is  true,  by  the 
God  which  speaks  through  her,  raises  me  to  the 
contemplation  of  the  Infinite ;  but  Art  is  lim- 
ited, like  its  creator.  Then  a  species  of  utilita- 
rianism will  come  in.  What  is  the  use  of  all 
this  ?  Are  the  prayers  which  rise  through  these 
magnificent  arches  more  acceptable  because 
borne  upon  the  deep,  solemn  pealing  of  the  or- 
gan, or  the  richer  swell  of  human  voices  ?  I  do 
not  doubt  they  may  be  sincere  ;  that  they  are  ac- 
cepted ;  but  mine  would  rise  more  freely,  when, 
surrounded  by  the  severe  and  naked  simplicity 
of  our  humblest  places  of  worship,  they  are  of- 
fered in  the  silence  of  all  flesh,  to  a  God  who 
must  be  worshipped  in  spirit  to  be  worshipped 
in  truth. 


JSL  21.]       ELIZABETH    T .    K 1  N  G .  13 

From  the  enjoyment  of  merely  liter- 
ary pursuits  and  the  pleasures  of  the  so- 
cial circle,  it  will  be  seen  that  her  atten- 
tion had  now  been  turned  to  other  and 
more  important  subjects.  The  solemn  con- 
sideration of  the  duties  of  life  pressed 
heavily  upon  her,  and  for  a  time,  like  the 
weary  dove,  her  soul  could  find  no  rest. 
Deeply  convinced  of  the  unsatisfying  na- 
ture of  any  thing  earth  can  give,  she  yet 
could  not  lay  hold  on  the  promises  of  the 
gospel.  The  mental  struggle  was  intense, 
and  her  health  was  affected  by  it. 

The  illness  and  death  of  a  beloved  aunt, 
to  whom  she  was  closely  united  by  a  sim- 
ilarity of  tastes  and  feeling,  as  well  as  the 
most  ardent  affection,  increased  her  desire 
to  find  some  support  which  would  not  fail. 
The  glory  of  the  unseen  world  which 
was  opening  upon  the  invalid,  was  the 
frequent  subject  of  their  communings,  and 


14  MEMOIR    OF  [^Et.  21. 

the  triumphant  faith  with  which,  as  the 
shades  of  evening  came  slowly  on,  she  could 
say,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and 
my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour," 
made  an  impression  on  the  mind  of  the 
young  disciple  never  to  be  effaced. 

She  was  convinced  of  the  reality  of  the 
faith  which  thus  supported  her  beloved 
aunt,  and  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit, 
which  not  only  convinces  of  sin  but  en- 
ables to  seek  availingly  for  pardon,  she 
was  brought  to  the  feet  of  her  Saviour,  and 
found  from  this  time  her  greatest  happi- 
ness in  the  performance  of  His  will. 

A  change  was  now  wrought  in  her  feel- 
ings, which  her  own  letters  to  the  same 
valued  friend  will  best  describe. 

New  Bedford,  2  mo.,  15th,  1842. 
I  think  I  am  growing  more  inclined  to  try 
every  thing  by  the  test,  1  Qui  bono?1 — not  in  a 
devotion  to  mere  utilitarianism,  but  to  examine 
the  bearing  of  all  our  business  and  pleasures  on 


JEt.  21.]       ELIZABETH    T .  KIXG. 


15 


our  eternal  interests  ;  and  I  try  to  withdraw  my- 
self from  vain  speculations,  and  be  quiet. 

The  truth  is,  we  can  not  buoy  ourselves  up 
long  ;  we  must  have  something  to  cling  to  which 
is  firm  and  fast.  We  are  willing  to  do  every 
thing  but  yield  simple  obedience,  try  any  rem- 
edy but  the  waters  of  Jordan  to  make  us  clean  ; 
but  all  this  is  but  a  vain  endeavor  to  escape  from 
the  simple  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  I  feel  inclined 
to  say  with  the  poet, 

'  Me  this  unchartered  freedom  tires ; 
I  feel  the  weight  of  chance  desires, 
And  TJiee  I  now  would  serve  more  strictly  if  I  may.' 

New  Bedford,  11  mo,  6th,  1842. 
If  there  is  any  thing  which  degrades  the  soul, 
I  think  it  is  a  devotion  to  worldly  wisdom  and 
expediency.  I  have  watched  its  deadly  blight 
creeping  over  the  soul,  and  withering  every 
noble  and  generous  feeling,  till  my  heart  has 
ached,  and  does  so  still.  After  all,  there  is 
nothing  which  can  truly  ennoble  man  but  pure, 
genuine,  thorough  Christianity.    Without  it  he 


16 


MEMOIR  OF 


[ML  22. 


must  not  only  be  wicked  and  wretched,  but  de- 
graded and  miserable. 

To  a  former  schoolmate : 

12  mo.,  6th,  1842. 

I  have  been  to  Bancroft's  lecture  this  eve- 
ning, and  was  much  pleased.  He  spoke  very 
well  of  the  mighty  significance  lying  hid  under 
the  seemingly  slightest  incidents — that  this  only 
was  the  interest  of  History.  All  thinking  minds 
take  this  comprehensive  and  philosophical  view, 
bat  there  are  many  who  store  the  mere  facts, 
without  looking  beneath  the  surface. 

Nothing  seems  to  me  important  except' as  it 
relates  to  the  inner  life,  and  in  that  connection 
it  is  of  mighty  power  and  interest.  I  cannot 
see  an  old  house  torn  down,  without  thinking 
how  every  beam  and  rafter  has  a  connection  in 
some  mind  with,  it  may  be,  a  fearful  history ; 
how  many  have  lived,  suffered,  enjoyed,  loved 
and  died  within  its  walls.  While  working  for 
the  Boston  [Charitable]  Fair,  I  have  amused 
myself  with  speculating  upon  the  stories  each 
article  of  fancy  work  might  tell.     There  are 


/Et.  22.].      ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


17 


many  of  exquisite  beauty  from  Europs,  I  hear. 
How  many  hopes  and  fancies  may  be  woven  in 
the  delicate  fabrics.  They  tell  no  tales,  but  every 
thing  has  a  tongue  to  me.  Pure  benevolence, 
influencing  a  light  and  happy  heart,  may  impel 
the  skillful  fingers,  or  they  may  move  more 
heavilv,  as  'the  continual  sorrow  of  the  soul' 
seeks  respite  in  ministering  to  the  woes  of  others. 
Yet  there  is  no  mark  by  which  the  difference 
may  be  detected. 

I  have  been  reading  with  much  interest  Ste- 
phen's Miscellanies.  The  articles  on  the  Early 
Jesuits,  the  Poet  Eoyalists,  Lather,  Baxter,  etc., 
call  forth  the  energies  of  an  earnest  and  vigor- 
ous mind,  for  they  treat  of  earnest  men — those 
who  believed  that  Life  and  Death,  Time  and 
Eternity,  were  not  merely  words,  but  realities  ; 
on  whose  ears  the  sound,  i  Verily  there  is  a  God 
who  judgeth  in  the  earth,'  fell  with  fearful  mean- 
ing. Bigoted,  harsh,  stern,  and  uncharitable 
they  were,  but  there  was  nevertheless  a  depth 
and  sincerity  of  purpose,  which  the  liberality 
which  is  often  indifference,  does  not  often  mani- 
fest.   The  sickly  refinement  and  fastidiousness 


18 


M  EMOI  II    O  F 


which  has  so  many  disciples  now,  is  the  charac- 
teristic of  an  age  without  faith  and  without  en- 
ergy. 

Life,  with  its  manifold  duties  and  fearful  im- 
port to  ourselves  and  others — death,  opening  the 
portals  to  eternity — eternity,  oh  how  can  we  look 
on  these  things  and  be  otherwise  than  serious 
and  earnest?  What  time  is  there  for  trifling 
when  such  important  concerns  are  pressing  upon 
our  hearts  ?  Every  thing,  our  dearest  pleasures, 
the  idols  to  which  we  cling  most  devotedly,  our 
most  heart-wearing  sorrows — all  sink  into  insig- 
nificance as  we  look  to  the  world  where  none  of 
earth's  allurements  can  find  an  entrance.  But 
often  our  faith  fails  and  our  hearts  sink,  and  the 
clouds  on  the  sunshine  of  Time  veil  us  from  the 
prospect  of  Eternity 

New  Bedford,  8  mo.,  1843. 

*  *  *  I  have  nothing  to  record  but  strug- 
gling, for  the  most  part  I  fear  in  vain,  sometimes 
almost  sinking,  andstill,  I  know  not  how,  kept  up, 
so  that  I  do  not  utterly  lose  hope  and  comfort. 

Then,  too,  I  lose  my  faith,  but  I  try  not  to, 


Ml  23.]       ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  19 

and  deliverance  will  perhaps  be  wrought,  though 
I  see  no  way.  So  many  temptations,  and  so 
great  a  tendency  to  yield  to  them,  I  think  some- 
times the  enemy  is  indeed  let  loose,  and  power 
given  him  over  every  thing  that  seemed  to  prom- 
ise hope  of  overcoming.  It  is  not  always  so, 
however,  and  sometimes  I  have  glimpses  of  a 
rest  which  has  been  promised,  and  have  a  realiz- 
ing sense  that  '  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him.' 

Many  snares  beset  me,  in  society  most  of  all 
I  think,  for  there  are  few  who  view  things  as  I 
do.  Not  that  I  often  speak  of  these  subjects; 
but,  if  we  are  desirous  that  one  great  principle 
of  action  should  be  established  in  our  hearts,  it 
alters  our  estimate  of  every  thing  else.  Things 
do  not  seem  as  they  once  did ;  we  can  not  be 
what  we  once  were ;  we  remember  how-  mys- 
terious and  almost  repulsive  these  views  were 
to  us,  and  know  how  they  seem  to  others 
now. 

New  Bedford,  3  mo.,  13th,  1844. 

Indeed,  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge  that  I 
have  not  been  left  alone,  though  my  unfaithful- 


20 


MEMOIR  OP 


[^Et.  23. 


ness  has  deserved  it.  Sometimes,  when  bowed 
under  a  sense  of  my  transgressions,  the  blessed 
conviction  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  Eedeemer's 
blood  to  cleanse  from  sin — to  save  ns,  as  some 
one  expresses  it,  not  only  from  the  penalty  but 
the  power — has  arisen  on  my  mind  with  a  heal- 
ing certainty. 

But  I  am  often  sorely  tempted,  and  my  faith 
fails,  and  my  love  grows  cold,  and  I  have  scarce- 
ly grace  to  bemoan  my  weakness.  I  do  not  often 
speak  of  my  inward  feelings,  but  all  this  is  very 
true.  I  have  been  tried  in  many  ways,  and  have 
suffered  much  from  sorrow  for  sin,  from  the 
agony  of  sacrificing  some  cherished  idol,  from 
the  contempt  of  others ;  but  the  hardest  of  all 
is  to  feel  that  the  world  will  gain  the  ascend- 
ency— that  it  is  far,  oh  very  far,  from  being  my 
meat  and  drink  to  do  the  will  of  God. 

Elizabeth  T.  King  had  always  the  care 
of  pious  parents,  exemplary  members  of 
the  religious  Society  of  Friends,  yet  she 
herself  had  never  until  now  made  that 
open  and  decided  acknowledgment  of  her 


jEt  24.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  21 

Saviour,  which,  with  love  and  charity  to  all 
His  true  followers,  ever  afterwards  marked 
her  devotion  and  consistency  as  a  member 
of  that  portion  of  His  Church  to  which  she 
belonged. 

The  following  letter,  written  to  one  of 
the  friends  of  her  youth,  who  had  not  seen 
her  for  some  time,  will  give  an  account  of 
the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  her 
views  and  feelings : — 

New  Bedford,  11  mo.,  7th,  1844. 

Thy  question  rings  in  my  ears  with  a  half- 
painful  sound,  'What  has  changed  you  so?' 
The  change  has  been  so  gradual,  that  I  am  not 
aware  until  I  meet  those  who  have  not  seen  me 
for  years,  that  it  is  so  great,  but  then  I  almost 
invariably  hear  some  remark  of  the  kind. 

Well,  dear,  time  and  care  have  no  little  ef- 
fect ;  although  it  may  be  a  slow  wearing,  it  is 
a  sure  one,  and  though  an  enthusiastic,  ardent, 
restless  temperament,  may  be  difficult  of  subjec- 
tion, it  is  one  which  shows  the  process  better. 


22 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt  24. 


When  thou  knew  me  I  felt  more  keenly,  but 
was  less  happy  than  now — now  that  joy  has  not 
so  much  power  to  elate,  or  sorrow  to  depress 
me — now  that  my  aspirations  are  very  nearly 
quenched,  and  my  mind  '  subdued  to  what  it 
works  in.'  It  is  a  less  interesting  condition,  but 
it  is  one  much  more  comfortable.  I  smile  with 
a  little  sadness  when  I  hear  myself  spoken  of  as 
so  calm ;  for,  after  all,  if  we  are  in  any  degree 
purified,  it  is  1  so  as  by  fire.'  I  consider  myself, 
however,  as  having  great  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  circumstances  have  been  such  as  to  com- 
pel me  to  this  course ;  that  cares,  anxieties,  sor- 
rows which  I  could  not  elude,  have  continually 
checked  me,  and  forced  me  to  form  a  more  so- 
ber estimate  of  life. 

Now  I  only  wish  to  form  a  habit  of  seeking 
for  jDleasure  in  duty  alone,  resolutely  rejecting 
any  enjoyment  which  conflicts  with  it  in  the 
slightest  degree.  I  have  such  an  abiding  sense 
of  the  transitory  nature  of  both  earthly  joys  and 
sorrows,  that  I  feel  it  to  be  wrong  to  be  much 
moved  by  them.  Why  trouble  ourselves  about 
the  inconveniences  of  our  journey,  or  be  excited 


M  24,]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  23 

by  a  pleasant  occurrence  that  is  soon  passed 
by? 

Does  thou  remember  the  Eastern  fable,  that 
Solomon,  on  being  asked  by  a  prince  to  give 
him  a  maxim  which  should  prevent  him  from 
being  elated  by  prosperity,  or  depressed  by  ad- 
versity, gave  him,  'This  also  passeth  away V 
Something  of  this  feeling  is  continually  in  my 
mind. 

But  I  do  not  mean  to  speak  as  if  I  even 
wished  to  attain  to  a  mere  philosophical  calm- 
ness. If  in  any  degree  the  restless,  irritable,  am- 
bitious feelings  of  my  early  youth  are  quieted, 
if  I  am  enabled  to  be  more  useful,  and  to  find 
pleasure  in  that,  rather  than  in  the  gratification 
of  my  own  tastes  (and  I  long  that  this  may  be 
more  and  more  the  case),  it  is,  thou  wilt  know 
and  feel,  only  owing  to  that  grace  which  is  mer- 
cifully  extended  to  us,  poor,  miserable,  blind  and 
naked  as  we  are,  to  which  nothing  is  impossible, 
or  there  would  be  no  hope  of  our  ever  becoming 
meet  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Our  Father  mercifully  stains  the  beauty  of 
this  world  in  our  view,  dims  all  our  pleasant 


24 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt  24. 


pictures,  shows  us  the  vanity  of  our  desires,  lets 
us  feel  the  deep  disappointment  of  having  our 
wishes  refused,  or  one  deeper  still  in  having 
them  granted,  that  we  may  long  for  '  the  quiet 
habitation'  which  He  provides,  and  learn  to  be 
thankful  beyond  measure  for  the  '  still  waters' 
which  we  once  despised. 

The  way  is  long  and  sometimes  dreary,  but 
we  are  journeying  to  a  better  habitation,  that  is 
an  heavenly.  Is  not  this  enough  ?  Let  us  en- 
courage one  another  to  press  forward  to  receive 
suffering  as  well  as  enjoyment  thankfully,  and 
let  patience  have  its  perfect  work. 

To  an  intimate  friend — 

New  Bedford,  11  mo.,  14th,  1844. 

I  have  been  passing  my  time  very  pleasantly 
in  Philadelphia,  but  rather  too  much  in  the  bus- 
tle after  all,  and  I  now  long  to  get  quietly  settled 
down  to  home  duties,  feeling  that  such  a  con- 
stant round  of  enjoyment  is  not  the  most  favor- 
able, even  to  happiness ;  but  it  has  been  very 
pleasant.  People  are  so  much  more  kind  to  me 
than  I  deserve,  or  can  possibly  understand  why, 


JEt.  24.]        ELIZABETH   T.    KIXG.  25 

that  it  must  and  does  give  me  great  satisfaction. 
I  have  been  away  from  home  five  or  six  weeks, 
and  visited  New  York,  Baltimore,  Washington 
and  Philadelphia ;  and  if  I  can  only  go  back, 
and  feel  that  I  have  not  done  any  one  any  harm, 
it  will  be  a  great  favor, — if  I  can  only  hope  that 
I  have  not  been  led  so  far  out  of  the  way  as  to 
prove  an  occasion  for  stumbling  in  an}'.  We 
can  not  avoid  influencing  others,  and  being  in- 
fluenced by  them,  and  it  is  a  fearful  thought 
that  a  brother's  blood  may  one  day  cry  against 
us.  Oh,  my  dear,  I  do  at  times  feel  that  it  is 
such  a  serious  thing  to  live,  that  I  am  almost 
overwhelmed  with  the  many  considerations  it 
involves.  And  while  we  feel  our  weakness,  we 
are  not  always  willing  to  go  to  the  right  Source 
for  strength  ;  shrink  from  the  patient  waiting, 
the  quiet  endurance  of  shame  and  suffering  ne- 
cessary for  our  purification.  I  am  grieved  to  the 
heart  at  my  own  ingratitude  and  willfulness.  But 
still  our  Father  cares  for  His  rebellious  children, 
and  embitters  their  cup  of  enjoyment,  refuses 
them  the  blessings  they  most  earnestly  desire,  till 
in  the  day  of  His  power  they  are  made  willing 
3 


26 


MEMOIR  OF 


[^Et.  24. 


to  submit.  Indeed,  we  have  cause  to  bless  Him 
'  most  for  the  severe.' 

We  have  all  felt  much  sympathy  with  you 
in  the  recent  affliction  you  have  experienced. 
We  were  well  qualified  to  sympathize  in  such 
a  sorrow.  But  there  is  such  abundant  consola- 
tion withal,  that  our  natural  grief  is  silenced 
when  we  think  that  our  beloved  ones  are  taken 
away  from  so  much  evil.  Sorrows  wear  upon 
our  hearts,  and  storms  of  temptation  assail,  till 
in  bitterness  of  spirit  we  may  say,  4  Mine  eye 
shall  no  more  see  good  but  they  are  at  rest — 
they  dwell  forever  by  the  still  waters,  and  lie 
down  in  the  quiet  habitation.  We  will  praise 
Him  for  this,  and  may  we  be  enabled  to  live  so 
that  when  He  is  pleased  to  summon  us  also  from 
a  world  whose  beauty  He  hath  dimmed,  we  too 
may  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  be  ad- 
mitted to  a  place,  though  it  be  the  lowest,  in  the 
mansions  prepared  for  them. 

To  the  same  friend  on  the  death  of  her 
father — 

New  Bedford,  3  mo.,  4th,  1845. 

I  have  often  thought  of  thee  during  the  last 


JEt.  24.]        ELIZABETH    T .  KING. 


27 


few  weeks  with  the  tenderest  sympathy  and  af- 
fection, and  have  frequently  attempted  to  ex- 
press it ;  but  what  could  I  say  ?  No  human 
consolation  can  avail  at  such  a  time,  and  I  feared, 
unbidden,  to  touch  so  deep  and  so  recent  a  wound, 
lest  I  might  only  add  to  thy  suffering.  Yet  I 
trust  thou  hast  not  lacked  consolation,  but  that 
thy  heavenly  Father  has  been  to  thee  as  He  hath 
promised,  strength  in  weakness,  and  a  present 
help  in  the  needful  time  ;  that  the  arm  of  Divine 
Love  hath  been  around  thee  and  beneath  thee, 
preventing  thee  from  sinking  in  the  waves  of 
affliction.  We  have  all  cause  to  mourn  the  loss 
which  we  have  sustained,  and,  above  every  sel- 
fish consideration,  we  mourn  that  the  Church, 
now  in  her  need,  should  have  lost  one  of  her 
most  valiant  soldiers ;  but  it  is  the  Lord — let  Him 
do  what  seemeth  to  Him  meet.  Ob,  my  dear 
friend,  what  a  blessedness  it  would  be  to  know 
our  own  wills  wholly  swallowed  up  in  the  Divine 
will,  so  that  we  might  be  careful  for  nothing  in 
any  way.  Sometimes  the  heavy  chastenings  ap- 
pear to  accomplish  this  in  some  measure,  and  is 
it  not  often  the  mission  on  which  they  are  sent?" 


28 


M  E  M  O  I II    O  F 


[Mt  23. 


The  following  extracts  are  from  her 
journal,  which,  from  this  time  seems  to 
have  been  kept  with  much  regularity  : 

7  mo.,  1st,  1845.  I  am  very  much  tried  with 
my  imperious  and  impatient  temper.  May  I  be 
able  to  overcome  this.  Then  I  have  a  tendency 
to  self-indulgence.  May  I  be  favored  to  feel  that 
the  one  thing  needful  is  the  only  thing  desirable. 

15th.  O  Father,  feeble  and  unworthy  as  I 
am,  Thou  knowest  the  desire  of  my  heart  is  to 
serve  Thee.  It  is  Thou  who  hast  given  this  de- 
sire ;  Thou  wilt  not  refuse  it.  Make,  I  beseech 
Thee,  the  way  plain  before  me,  and  enable  me  to 
tread  it  in  the  obedience  of  faith. 

8  mo.,  16th.  'I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways, 
that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue.'  I  have  been  too 
careless  of  late  in  repeating  tales  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  others.  0  that  I  may  walk  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  all  the  day  long.  I  have  felt 
that  Ave  were  not  to  ask  for  temporal  blessings, 
or  spiritual  comforts,  hut  only  that  we  might  be 
fed  with  food  convenient  for  us,  even  though 
that  may  be  the  bread  of  adversity  and  the  water 


JSt.  25.         ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  29 

of  affliction.  1  Shall  we  receive  good  at  tlie  hand 
of  the  Lord,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil?' 

9  mo.,  1st.  May  I  be  led  and  guided  in  all 
my  steps  by  Him  who  is  the  only  Leader,  that  I 
may  give  up  every  thing  which  lie  requires,  in 
little  things  as  well  as  great.  Oh  enable  me  to 
bear  patiently  the  daily  cross,  looking  for  no 
comfort  or  pleasure  out  of  the  fulfillment  of  Thy 
will.  Give  me  to  travail  availingly  for  the  wel- 
fare of  Thy  Church  militant,  for  those  that  are 
dear  to  me,  and  for  my  own  advancement  in  the 
pathway  of  holiness.  I  have  only  sins  and  weak- 
nesses to  bring  to  Thee ;  be  pleased  to  have 
compassion,  and  afford  a  little  help  to  struggle 
against  them,  manifold  though  they  be. 

31st.  I  have  been  much  favored  to-day,  in 
my  retirement,  with  quietness,  with  desires  for 
more  entire  devotion,  and  with  a  view  of  the 
marvelous  love  manifested  in  the  Saviour's  life 
and  sacrifice,  *and  its  efficacy.  Our  Saviour! 
How  blessed  is  the  sound!  May  I  be  guided 
every  moment  by  His  Spirit,  and  be  kept  from 
sin  of  any  kind  or  degree. 

10  mo.,  15th.  Yesterday  I  had  a  call  from 

3* 


30  MEMOIR    OF  [J2t.  25. 

 .    I  talked  much,  and  perhaps  not  un- 

profitably ;  but  it  had  an  exciting  and  unfavor- 
able effect,  as  it  tended  a  little  to  the  exaltation 
of  self.  I  can  not  bear  to  have  my  quiet  dis- 
turbed ;  and  those  periods  when,  as  it  were,  I  rest 
under  the  shadow  of  His  wings,  are  so  precious, 
that  I  desire  to  watch  jealously  lest  any  earthly 
feeling  should  draw  me  from  this  refuge.  There 
is  no  comfort,  no  satisfaction,  in  any  thing  else. 
The  heart  can  rest  in  no  earthly  home ;  not  too 
entirely  even  in  that  whjph  is  provided  to  cheer 
it  as  a  brook  by  the  way. 

11  mo.,  21st.  I  have  continually  to  struggle 
against  my  pride  and  selfishness.  Oh  for  the 
rest  of  true  humility  !  Could  I  attain  to  it,  how 
much  should  I  enjoy.  "Well,  in  the  beautiful 
language  of  one  cf  our  early  Friends,  c  jSTone  are 
so  weary  but  He  takes  care  of  them,  and  none  so 
nigh  fainting,  but  He  puts  His  arm  under  their 
heads  ;  nor  can  any  be  so  beset  with  enemies  on 
every  side,  but  He  will  arise  and  scatter  them  ; 
and  none  are  so  heavy  laden,  but  He  takes  no- 
tice of,  and  gently  leads  them — so  tender  is  this 
Good  Shepherd  over  His  flock.' 


Ml  25.]       ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  31 

Oh  what  marvelous  loving-kindness !  To  be- 
lieve in  this  constantly  would  be  an  abiding- 
comfort;  but  our  own  weakness  and  faithless- 
ness interpose  many  clouds  between  us  and  the 
Sun  of  Eighteousness. 

It  is  but  justice  to  her  character  to  say, 
that  these  complaints  of  irritability  and 
selfishness  arose  from  her  desire  to  be  tho- 
roughly conformed  to  the  perfect  Pattern. 
Her  conduct  was  ever  marked  by  a  scru- 
pulous attention  to  the  wishes  of  others, 
and  a  striking  forgetfulness  of  self. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  in  which 
she  was  to  leave  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood, and  assume  new  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities. 

But  in  the  midst  of  her  anticipations  of 
happiness,  the  glories  of  the  enduring  hab- 
itation seemed  to  assume  a  more  definite 
form,  and  in  a  farewell  note  to  a  dearly- 
loved  aunt,  she  thus  writes:  — 


32 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  25. 


New  Bedford,  12  mo.,  28th,  1845. 
Ah,  my  dear,  what  is  our  happiness — the 
greatest  on  earth,  where  the  most  confiding  love, 
the  deepest  and  truest  affection,  are  based  on  the 
sure  foundation  of  perfect  esteem,  and  sanctified 
by  our  Father  in  Heaven,  to  the  bliss  of  the  re- 
deemed spirits  of  those  who  have  gone  before 
us. 

I  can  not  tell  thee  how  heaven  opens  before 
me — no  more  sorrow,  no  more  partings,  no  more 
'of  this  clinging  earthly  love,  no  more  drooping 
under  the  weight  of  feeling,  which  our  hearts 
can  not  bear,  and,  above  all,  no  more  sin ;  but 
clearly  and  confidingly  we  look  upon  the  Fa- 
ther— no  cloud  of  the  body's  weakness  or  the 
spirit's  sinfulness,  and  we  are  satisfied,  for  we 
awake  in  His  likeness. 

How  those  whom  we  have  mourned  for  with 
exceeding  sorrow  will  welcome  us  to  those  shore?, 
if  through  mercy  we  are  favored  to  reach  them. 
Look  upon  Him  whom  we  have  pierced;  His 
countenance  is  radiant  with  ineffable  love  as  lie 
says,  '  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  prepared  for  you,  from  the  found  a- 


ML  25.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


33 


tion  of  the  world' — the  city  1  whose  walls  are  sal- 
vation, and  whose  gates  are  praise.'  God  Him- 
self shall  wipe  awaj  all  tears  from  our  eyes. 
Words  fail  me,  as  I  would  express  the  com- 
munion of  spirit  throughout  all  eternit}^,  in  the 
blessed  employment  of  praising  our  God  for- 
ever. I  could  almost  say  the  veil  was  lifted, 
that  the  glory,  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  was 
made  manifest  to  my  spiritual  vision.  It  seems 
scarcely  allowable  to  utter  these  unspeakable 
things,  but  these  views  have  very  unexpectedly 
impressed  my  mind.  Would  that  they  might  be 
oftener  present  with  me — earth  would  not  then 
look  so  enticing. 

May  we  give  ourselves  up  into  our  Father's 
hands,  for  life  or  death,  for  joy  or  sorrow,  secure 
that  all  will  be  icell 

On  the  last  night  of  the  year  1845  the 
following  entry  occurs: — ■ 

"  12  mo.,  31st.  So  it  will  soon  be  over— a  year 
which  has  decided  my  future  life.  I  began  it 
with  anticipations  of  happiness  ;  they  have  been 


34 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mi.  25. 


realized,  for  I  never  before  was  so  happy,  though 
now  the  future  assumes  no  definite  form.  But 
I  am  almost  sorrowful,  even  heavy-hearted  now, 
as  I  feel  the  weight  of  the  step  I  am  about  to 
take.  May  my  love  become  more  and  more 
spiritual,  and  divested  of  selfishness ;  may  my 
faith  be  strengthened,  that  I  may  go  on  quietly 
and  calmly  in  the  way  in  which  I  believe  I  am 
called  upon  to  walk,  not  repining  or  feeling  dis- 
appointment if  I  should  find  some  thorns  among 
the  flowers.  I  must  look  to  Him  who  is  '  strength 
in  weakness,'  to  be  with  me  now,  and  desire  to 
resign  myself  and  all  I  have,  unreservedly,  into 
His  holy  keeping. 

On  the  8th  of  1st  month,  1846,  she  was 
married  to  Francis  T.  King,  of  Baltimore, 
and  removed  to  reside  in  that  city.  A 
change  of  residence  brought  with  it  no 
change  in  her  desires  for  holiness ;  but,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  her  many  blessings,  her 
heart  continually  turned  to  her  Heavenly 
Father,  and  sought  to  follow  Him  unre- 


JEt  25.] 


ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


35 


servedly.  In  reference  to  her  marriage, 
she  says — 

As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the 
Lord,  and  serve  Him  too  in  the  way  of  His 
requirings,  as  far  as  strength  is  given  us  to 
do  so. 

0h;  Father,  satisfy,  if  it  please  Thee,  the  de- 
sires which  we  believe  Thou  hast  created  in  our 
souls  for  more  holiness  and  greater  usefulness, 
and  grant,  if  consistent  with  Thy  holy  will,  that 
we  may  go  on  together  in  the  path  of  humility 
and  self-denial. 

1  mo.,  22d,  1846.  All  must  be  in  subjection 
to  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  now  I  renewedly  de- 
sire to  take  such  portions  from  His  hand  as  He 
may  see  meet  to  bestow,  in  thankfulness  for 
what  is  given  and  for  what  is  withheld.  Oh  to 
be  made  meet  to  be  a  partaker  with  the  heavenly 
host — to  be  fitted  for  usefulness  while  detained 
on  earth.  I  long  to  be  dedicated,  body,  soul  and 
spirit,  to  the  service  of  the  Kedeemer,  while  I 
feel  that  the  flesh  shrinks  from  sacrifice  and  self- 
denial. 


36 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  2 


The  following  are  extracts  from  letters 
written  at  this  time  to  a  )Toung  friend  in 
whom  she  was  warmly  interested,  who 
was  struggling  with  the  doubts  and  fears 
incident  to  the  early  stages  of  a  Christian's 
course : — 

Baltimore,  1  mo.,  1846. 

*  *  *  Now,  my  dear,  I  must  speak  of 
some  parts  of  thy  letter,  which  touch  me  very 
much,  though  I  scarcely  know  what  to  say,  for 
human  counsel,  and  the  tenderest  human  sym- 
pathy, will  not  avail  in  the  work  which  lies  be- 
tween us  and  our  Maker.  But  He  is  a  God  nigh 
at  hand,  and  His  love  and  care  are  greater  than 
any  other.  He  will  direct  thy  steps  if  thou  look 
to  Him  for  guidance. 

Do  not  be  discouraged  ;  look  up  to  Him 
with  trust  and  love,  for  He  commands  this ;  but 
remember,  that  of  old  the  sacrifices  were  made 
by  fire  unto  the  Lord,  and  many  pleasant  things 
must  be  given  up  now.  "  Whosoever  he  be  of 
you  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  can  not 
be  my  disciple."    Never  let  any  thing,  however 


ML  25.]       ELIZABETH  T.KING. 


37 


insignificant,  stand  in  the  way  of  thy  peace,  and 
then  thou  wilt  experience  that  in  His  presence 
alone  is  fullness  of  joy. 

The  way  may  at  times  seem  dark,  but  light 
will  arise,  if  thou  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  wait 
patiently  for  Him.  That  light  may  sometimes 
show  hard  things  to  be  required,  but  do  not 
be  distressed  if  thy  heart  should  rebel ;  bring 
thy  unwillingness  and  disobedience  to  Him,  in 
the  faith  that  He  will  give  thee  power  to  over- 
come, for  He  can  not  fail.  "  Greater  is  He  that  is 
in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world,"  so  keep 
close  to  Him,  and  the  victory  will  be  won.  But 
do  not,  I  beseech  thee,  neglect  any  thing  that  is 
required,  for  disobedience  brings  darkness  ;  and 
do  not  reason  or  delay,  but  simply  follow  the 
leadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  He  will  guide 
thee  into  all  peace. 

Baltimore,  1  mo.,  29th,  1846. 
I  long  for  thee,  my  dear,  and  feel  painfully 
desirous  that  strength  may  be  given  to  resist  the 
temptations  surrounding  thee,  that  thou  may  not 
let  go  thy  hold  at  all.  We  are  seeking  "  a  better 
country,  that  is  an  heavenly,"  and  there  is  more 


38 


MEMOIR  OF 


[.Et.  25. 


true  satisfaction  in  suffering  for  Christ  than  in 
any  earthly  enjoyment. 

Baltimore,  2  mo.,  1st,  184G. 

Hold  fast  the  profession  of  your  faith,  with- 
out wavering,  for  He  is  faithful  that  promised. 
Never  be  discouraged  ;  though  we  fall,  we  shall 
rise  again,  if  we  look  to  Him  who  will  not  fail 
to  hear  and  help. 

I  long  that  every  thing  may  work  together 
for  thy  good — pleasure  and  pain,  care  and  disap- 
pointment, if  such  come — but  do  not  think  it 
must  be  all  gloom.  While  I  would  not  have 
one  burden  lightened,  which  an  All- wise  Dis- 
poser of  events  lays  upon  us,  or  one  cross  re- 
moved, which  He  imposes,  we  must  remember 
we  do  not  serve  a  hard  Master,  but  a  merciful 
Father. 

Baltimore,  4  mo.,  3d,  184G. 
Try  to  keep  humble  and  quiet.  Eemember 
it  is  not  in  the  whirlwind,  or  the  fire,  that  the 
Lord  speaks  to  His  children,  but  in  the  still 
small  voice.  It  is  the  enemy  that  disturbs  the 
soul ;  but  as  in  reverent  stillness  we  endeavor  to 
bow  before  the  Lord,  He  will  teach  us  of  His 


At  25.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KIXG.  39 

ways,  and  give  us  strength  to  walk  in  His  paths. 
As  we  continually  strive  to  look  to  Him,  He  will 
not  forsake  us,  and  the  work,  of  which  He  is  the 
Author,  He  will  also  finish.  In  the  early  part 
of  our  religious  experience  many  fears  arise  lest 
sacrifices  may  be  called  for,  which  we  think  we 
can  not  make,  but  we  must  not  look  too  much 
at  these;  just  give  ourselves  up,  trusting  that 
strength  will  be  given  for  whatever  is  required, 
and  the  way  will  be  made  clear  when  the  time 
arrives;  "Why  are  ye  fearful,  oh  ye  of  little 
faith  ?" 

We  know  we  love  those  who  are  dear  to  us ; 
we  know  we  would  not  let  them  suffer  unneces- 
sarily, and  that  we  would  never  let  them  straj-, 
nor  allow  any  harm  to  come  nigh  them.  When 
we  feel  how  strong  this  is  in  our  finite  natures, 
let  us  remember  that  "God  is  love,"  and  that 
withal,  He  is  All-wise  and  Almighty.  "  Enter 
not  into  the  hurryings  of  the  enemy,  though 
they  fill  the  soul,"  but  look  up  with  a  trust,  that 
though  all  is  dark  now,  light  will  yet  be  given. 
This  faith  is  more  acceptable  than  any  thing 
else  ;  without  it  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him. 


40 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  26. 


Baltimore,  6th  mo.,  1847. 
A  mad  dog  was  killed  yesterday  just  before 
our  door,  which  rather  alarmed  me,  as  we  were, 
unconsciously,  near  such  great  danger.  All  hu- 
man prudence  and  foresight  are  unavailing  to 
preserve  us ;  we  must  take  all  proper  precau- 
tions, and  leave  the  result  "to  Him  who  doeth 
all  things  well."  What  a  comfort  to  believe  we 
are  under  Ilis  fatherly  care ;  none  can  pluck  us 
out  of  His  hand,  and  whatever  the  dispensation 
allotted  us,  He  sees  and  knows  it  all,  and  can 
preserve  and  comfort,  through  all  He  permits  to 
befall  us.  I  have  been  thinking  much  lately  of 
the  text,  "  Let  patience  have  its  perfect  work." 
Life  is  not  intended  merely  for  enjoyment ;  it  is 
a  state  of  trial  and  discipline,  and  I  have  desired 
very  much  to  resign  every  wish,  hope,  and  ex- 
pectation, every  thing,  into  the  hands  of  our  hea- 
venly Father,  willing  to  receive  daily  the  portion 
which  He  allows,  though  it  may  be,  and  often  is, 
the  cup  of  suffering.  But  He  never  lays  more 
upon  His  children  than  He  gives  ability  to  bear, 
so  let  us  look  up  to  Him  with  filial  confidence, 
and  in  His  own  time  He  will  give  "beauty  for 


ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  41 

ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  gar- 
ment of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness."  If  we 
follow  the  apostle's  injunction,  "In  every  thing 
give  thanks,''  we  shall  not  be  desponding ;  and 
if  it  be  the  will  of  our  heavenly  Father  that  we 
should  glorify  Him  in  the  fires,  may  He  give  us 
strength  to  say  "  Thy  will  be  done."  "When  the 
furnace  was  heated  seven  times  hotter  than  it 
was  wont  to  be,  there  was  a  form  like  the  Son 
of  God  with  the  three  children  there. 

• 

She  writes  thus  in  her  journal : — 

10  mo.,  8th,  1847.  I  had  a  precious  feeling 
of  comfort  this  morning  in  the  thought,  that  it 
is  no  matter  how  despised  we  may  be,  if  we  are 
permitted  to  find  acceptance  in  the  Beloved.  It 
may  be  that  pride  and  self  love  mingle  with  our 
desires  for  usefulness,  even  in  the  Church.  If 
He  see  meet  to  refuse  the  qualification,  He  may 
give  it  to  others.  "The  meek  will  He  guide 
in  judgment,  and  the  meek  will  He  teach  his 
way. 

The  willingness  to  be  nothing,  if  that  be  His 

will,  is  sweet,  and  I  desire  to  be  very  thankful 
40 


42  MEMOIR   OF  [jEt.  27. 

for  this  little  ray  of  comfort,  vouchsafed  after  a 
time  of  deep  humiliation.  I  have  the  deepest 
cause  for  thankfulness  in  my  abundant  bless- 
ings ;  my  cup  runneth  over.  May  I  see  clearly 
what  my  duty  is,  and  be  favored  with  strength 
to  do  it,  not  consulting  my  own  ease  or  plea- 
sure. 

In  a  letter  to  a  dear  friend  she  thus  con- 
tinues this  subject : — 

*  Baltimore,  11  mo.,  7  th,  1847. 

This  stripped,  weak  state  is  very  trying  to 
that  part  which  would  fain  seek  the  honor  which 
cometh  from  man.  I  have  been  well-nigh  dis- 
mayed, sometimes  entirely  so,  but  the  heights 
have  a  greater  tendency  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God  than  the  depths.  When  the  cross 
of  Christ  is  the  only  refuge,  with  what  strength 
of  despair  the  soul  clings  to  it. 

Ah,  my  dear,  this  is  a  pilgrimage — a  war- 
fare— no  stopping  for  permanent  rest  until  the 
journey  is  over — no  putting  off  the  armor,  or 
laying  down  the  weapons,  until  the  victory  is 
won.    I  have  excused  myself  in  various  ways 


JEt.  27.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


43 


from  labor.  I  said  I  was  weak,  that  I  Lad  other 
cares,  that  I  was  afraid  of  a  forward  spirit ;  but 
I  now  see  that  it  is  in  a  great  measure  the  with- 
holding more  than  was  meet  that  has  tended  to 
my  deep  poverty,  and  that  if  simple  obedience 
had  been  yielded  to  gentle  intimations,  I  should 
have  had  more  peace. 

Time  is  passing  away  very  rapidly  with,  us 
both ;  we  ought  before  very  long  to  stand  as 
soldiers  in  the  fight.  Are  we  making  the  prog- 
ress wrhich  will  qualify  us  for  this?  Are  we 
casting  aside  creaturely  activity,  the  love  of  the 
world,  and  the  fear  of  it,  and  deepening  in  the 
root?  Indeed,  this  is  a  very  serious  matter  for 
us  to  think  of,  now  that  we  are  mothers,  and 
must  seek  for  strength  to  guide  and  restrain 
those  who  are  dearer  to  us  than  life.  If  we  could 
but  dwell  under  a  constant  concern  for  the  right 
advancement  of  our  dear  children,  I  believe  it 
would  be  very  effectual.  May  the  Lord  take  our 
little  ones  into  His  flock ! 

3  mo.,  4th,  1848.  I  have  had  not  a  little  quiet 
comfort  this  morning ;  but  I  have  been  exceed- 


44 


MEMOIR  OF 


[ML  21. 


ingly  tried  and  exercised  in  the  desire,  that  while 
I  am  faithful  to  the  law  and  the  testimonj^,  I 
may  in  no  wise  depart  from  a  loving  and  chari- 
table spirit.  I  see  much  that  I  think  is  wrong; 
may  I  be  favored  to  preserve  the  right  medium 
between  too  much  liberality  and  bigotry.  Could 
I  but  be  preserved  in  a  loving,  humble  spirit, 
how  happy  I  might  always  be.  There  is  the 
command,  "Judsre  not:"  let  me  ever  bear  this 
in  mind. 

As  a  member  of  Friends'  Prison  Associa- 
tion, she  frequently  spent  the  afternoon  of 
First  day  at  the  Maryland  Penitentiary, 
for  the  purpose  of  teaching  the  women 
confined  there.  In  reference  to  these  vis- 
its, she  says  in  her  journal :  — 

I  wish  I  could  relieve  my  mind  of  the  bur- 
dens that  oppress  it.  I  long  to  speak  to  the 
women,  but  have  not  courage.  I  have  almost 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  utteranco  never  will 
be  given. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  next  extract  that 


yEt.  28.] 


ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


45 


she  was  favored  with  strength  to  perform 
what  seemed  required  at  her  hands. 

3  mo.,  28tb.  Last  First  clay  I  went  out  to 
the  Penitentiary  in  much  heaviness  ;  but  though 
something  seemed  to  present  itself  before  me,  I 
felt  there  was  so  much  handed  forth,  I  might  be 

excused.     However,  after  had  finished, 

she  turned  to  me  and  asked  if  I  had  any  thing 
to  say,  when  in  great  weakness,  and  in  a  stam- 
mering manner,  I  said  a  few  words  on  the  neces- 
sity of  prayer.  Afterwards  I  had  great  openness 
and  a  degree  of  success  with  my  class,  and  in  re- 
turning, and  for  the  rest  of  the  evening,  my  peace 
flowed  as  a  river;  yet  there  was  nothing  what- 
ever for  the  flesh  to  glory  in. 

12  mo.,  13th,  1848.  I  felt  this  morning  after 
the  reading  as  though  I  would  like  to  express  a 
desire  that  we  might  live  nearer  our  heavenly 
Father ;  but  I  shrunk,  because  I  feared  I  might 
do  wrong  during  the  day,  and  thus  bring  re- 
proach upon  Ilis  cause.  This  was  faithless,  I 
know,  but  I  am  so  weak.  Oh,  my  Father,  look 
down  with  pity ;  and  if  Thou  hast  any  service 


46 


MEMOIR  OF 


[>Et.  28. 


for  me  to  perform,  keep  me  near  Thee  in  hu- 
mility, and  let  none  of  my  actions  bring  reproach 
upon  Thy  cause,  or  blood  upon  my  own  head. 

In  a  letter  to  an  aunt  she  writes  :— 

Baltimore,  12  mo.,  20th,  1848. 

My  journeying  has  been  mostly  in  the  wil- 
derness since  we  met ;  but  this  matters  little  if 
we  can  feel  any  evidence  that  the  journey  has 
been  onward.  The  fear  that  it  has  not,  has  been 
cause  of  the  greatest  sorrow  and  discouragement, 
yet  there  has  been  some  arising  of  the  well-spring 
of  life.  May  we  be  favored  to  journey  forward, 
keeping  very  near  to  our  Master,  and  willing  to 
follow  Him  whithersoever  He  leadeth. 

I  thought  I  felt  a  freedom  to  speak  in  this 
way  to  thee,  my  dear,  to  whom  I  feel  bound,  not 
only  by  the  ties  of  natural  affection,  but  by  a 
deeper  and  stronger  tie  of  spiritual  sympath}', 
in  which  I  have  felt  to  crave  for  thee,  as  for  my 
own  soul,  greater  advancement  and  more  heart- 
felt devotion,  and  such  a  close  keeping  to  the 
light,  even  here  amid  trials  and  temptations,  that 
so  we  may  be  "  always  with  the  Lord."  Since  we 


JEL  28.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  47 

may  truly  say  our  cup  runneth  over,  may  we 
strive  to  prove  our  thankfulness  by  our  obedi- 
ence. Oh,  how  earnestly  do  I  crave  this,  having 
proved  so  fully  that  the  smile  of  our  heavenly 
Father  lights  even  the  darkest  path,  and  without 
it  even  the  brightest  is  gloomy. 

That  one  so  sensitive  as  the  subject  of 
this  Memoir,  who  habitually  tested  herself 
by  the  highest  standard,  should  often  feel 
deeply  her  own  shortcomings,  and  that  the 
entries  in  her  journal,  or  her  confidential 
letters,  should  at  such  times  give  evidence 
of  it,  will  not  surprise  those  who  knew  her. 
But  it  would  be  doing  injustice  to  her  char- 
acter, and  especially  to  her  Christian  course, 
did  we  suppose  that  these  struggles  after 
the  Ci  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God"  unfitted 
her  for  the  cheerful  performance  of  social 
duties,  or  lessened  her  enjoyment  of  the 
blessings  by  which  she  was  surrounded. 
She  was  in  truth  the  light  of  her  house- 
hold, and  found  a  constant  source  of  pure 


48 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  28. 


pleasure  to  herself  in  the  duties  of  a  wife 
and  mother.  She  entered  with  the  fullest 
sympathy  into  the  innocent  enjoyments  of 
her  family,  drawing  on  her  own  resources 
for  their  encouragement  and  instruction ; 
or  aiding  them  in  the  appreciation  of  the 
beauties  of  Nature.  It  was  beautiful  to  re- 
mark how  all  her  experience  of  the  love 
and  mercy  of  her  heavenly  Father  did  but 
deepen  her  love,  first  for  the  little  family 
group,  and  then  in  ever  expanding  circles 
for  all  the  objects  of  His  tender  regard. 
Nor  was  it  less  instructive  to  learn  from 
her  example,  that  while  true  piety  hum- 
bles us  under  a  keener  sense  of  our  defi- 
ciencies, it  teaches  us  to  use  all  the  facul- 
ties with  which  He  has  endowed  us  in  the 
service  of  our  Lord;  and  that  such  per- 
formance of  duty  is  rewarded  by  an  in- 
crease of  ability,  as  well  as  by  the  evidence 
of  His  gracious  approval. 


JEt.  29.]        ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  49 

During  the  visit  of  our  friend,  Hannah 
C.  Backhouse,  to  this  country  in  1833,  she 
was  much  interested  in  promoting  Scriptu- 
ral instruction,  and  First  day  schools  were 
established  through  her  influence,  in  New 
Bedford  as  well  as  in  many  other  places. 
With  the  former,  E.  T.  King  was  connected, 
first  as  a  scholar  and  afterwards  as  a  teacher, 
until  the  time  of  her  removal  to  Baltimore. 

Her  interest  in  this  subject  was  very 
great,  as  well  as  her  power  of  awakening 
a  corresponding  feeling  in  others.  She  de- 
lighted to  point  out  the  love  of  God  as  dis- 
played in  the  plan  of  redemption,  the 
agreement  of  the  different  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  the  exact  fulfillment  of  prophecy. 

The  knowledge  she  had  culled  from  va- 
rious sources  was  all  brought  into  use,  and 
the  simple  manner  in  which  the  information 
was  conveyed,  was  well  calculated  to  impress 
the  minds  of  those  she  sought  to  instruct. 

One  of  her  scholars  recently  remarked. 

5 


50 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mt  29. 


that  though  the  Bible  had  been  familiar  to 
her  from  infancy,  her  first  pleasant  impres- 
sions and  real  interest  in  it,  were  received 
at  that  time. 

The  following  letter  will  further  show 
her  diligence  in  every  good  word  and 
work : 

Baltimore,  5  mo.,  13th. 

Another  subject  much  on  my  mind  is  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  House  of  Industry  here,  and  a 
colored  school  in  connection  with  it,  which  I 
hope  will  be  accomplished.  I  have  not  any  quali- 
fication for  starting  or  managing  such  a  thing, 
but  I  want  to  get  those  to  work  who  can. 

I  do  not  think,  my  dear,  that  the  prospect  of 
success  is  the  moving  principle  with  those  who 
carry  on  benevolent  works  even  most  success- 
fully. They  do  it  because  they  can  not  help  it — 
because  it  is  their  duty  to  act,  leaving  the  re- 
sults ;  for  they  are  often  apparent  failures.  They 
do  good,  hoping  for  nothing  again  ;  but  I  do  not 
deny  that  there  is  a  seed  of  good  in  every  human 
heart,  though  it  is  often  so  choked  and  over- 
grown that  it  is  entirely  unfruitful. 


Mt.  29.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  51 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to 

 and  on  the  occasion  of  the 

death  of  their  two  only  children  : — 

Baltimore.  9  mo.,  17th,  1849. 

Although  you  may  be  at  first  surprised  at 
receiving  a  letter  from  me,  I  do  not  think  you 
will  consider  it  an  intrusion,  since  it  is  prompted 
by  very  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy  with  you 
in  the  recent  affliction  which  you  have  exper- 
ienced. I  feel  it  more  sensibly  as  my  own  chil- 
dren were  very  nearly  of  the  same  age  with  your 
litde  darlings,  and  I  naturally  felt  a  stronger 
interest  in  them.  But  I  have  very  earnestly 
desired,  that  although  this  stroke  m&y  at  first 
appear  overwhelming,  you  may  be  enabled  to 
trace  in  it  the  hand  of  a  gracious  Father  who  has 
taken  }^our  little  ones  from  the  evil  to  come,  to 
be  for  ever  at  rest  in  His  bosom. 

In  looking  on  my  own  children,  and  think- 
ing of  the  trials,  the  sorrows,  and,  above  all,  the 
temptations  of  this  world,  I  have  often  felt  that 
I  could  not  ask  life  for  them — only  that  when 
He  saw  meet,  wrhether  it  was  sooner  or  later,  He 
would  take  them  to  Himself. 


52 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt  20. 


Indeed,  my  dear  friends,  there  is  abiding  con- 
solation in  the  thought  that  whatever  storms  may 
now  come,  they  can  not  reach  these  precious  ones, 
who  are  now  mingling  with  the  angelic  throng  in 
that  city  where  none  can  say  "  I  am  sick." 

Do  you  think  that  I  am  in  any  degree  in- 
sensible to  the  suffering  you  must  experience? 
I  know  how  your  hearts  will  yearn  for  the  sweet 
voices  of  your  children,  and  how  lonely  your 
home  will  seem  ;  but  I  earnestly  desire  that  the 
Father  of  mercies  and  God  of  all  consolation 
may  be  near  you,  pouring  the  oil  and  the  wine 
into  your  stricken  hearts.  Kemember,  "  affliction 
cometh  not  forth  from  the  dust,  neither  doth 
trouble  spring  from  the  ground ;"  all  our  chasten- 
in  gs  are  from  the  hand  of  a  Father  who  loves 
His  children  better  than  we  love  ours,  and  doth 
not  willingly  afflict  them.  May  you  feel  this  a 
renewed  call  to  be  more  dedicated  to  His  ser- 
vice; and  now,  that  your  treasures  are  in  heaven, 
may  your  hearts  be  there  more  exclusively,  and 
the  time  may  yet  come  that  you  will  say  with 
thankful  hearts  "  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have 
been  afflicted." 


JEt.  29.]       ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


53 


While  I  write  I  feel  that  words  are  inade- 
quate either  to  express  my  own  feelings  or  to 
convey  any  comfort  to  your  hearts ;  and  I  again 
commend  you,  and  particularly  thee,  my  dear 

 ,  as  I  know  how  keen  the  anguish  of  a 

mother  must  be,  to  Him  who  is  the  Comforter, 
the  Helper,  and  the  Stay  of  all  who  look  to  Him 
for  consolation.  May  He  give  you  resignation 
to  His  will,  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  say,  u  It 
is  the  Lord,  let  Him  do  what  seemeth  to  Him 
good." 

To  one  of  her  sisters  : — 

Baltimore,  12  mo.,  1S49. 
We  were  speaking  of  the  different  views  in 
regard  to  dress.  I  think  we  must  learn  not  to 
put  entire  confidence  in  any  one's  judgment  in 
regard  to  it.  If  we  keep  low  and  humble,  with 
a  single  eye,  we  shall  be  directed,  in  little  as  well 
as  great  things ;  but  if  any  Friend  were  troubled 
with  any  thing  I  wore,  I  should,  if  I  felt  at  lib- 
erty, alter  it.  We  may  draw  humiliating  lessons 
from  the  condescending  love  and  goodness  of 

our  heavenly  Father,  who  certainly  does  give 
5* 


54 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mt.  29. 


precious  spiritual  gifts  to  His  unworthy  crea- 
tures, who  must  appear  beyond  measure  frail  in 
His  sight. 

Some  among  us  may  indulge  too  much  in 
dress;  that  may  be  their  infirmity.  Others  in- 
dulge too  much  in  making  remarks  upon  it — 
that  may  be  their  weakness ;  but  both  may,  re- 
deemed and  purified  from  all  these  besetments, 
join  together  in  the  most  perfect  love  and  har- 
mony, in  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the 
Lamb.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  only  way  to  go 
through  the  world  is  just  loving,  and  in  the 
deepest  humility,  conscious  of  our  own  weakness, 
making  allowances  for  everybody. 

Her  married  life  had  hitherto  been  un- 
clouded ;  but  in  the  summer  of  this  year, 
1850,  she  was  called  to  resign  a  lovely  in- 
fant to  the  arms  of  her  Saviour.  While 
keenly  feeling  the  blow,  she  clung  with 
loving  submission  to  the  Hand  that  dealt  it, 
and,  trusting  in  her  God  for  strength,  was 
enabled  to  say,  "It  is  well  with  the  child." 


JEL  30.]        ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  55 

In  a  letter  to  a  relative  she  thus  alludes 
to  her  loss  : — 

Baltimore,  9  mo.,  1850. 
Since  I  have  had  a  child  in  heaven,  it  has 
seemed  to  me  I  was  nearer  to  the  glorified  spirits. 
I  can  not  tell  what  an  effect  this  bereavement 
lias  had  upon  me.  There  are  times  when  my 
heart  yearns  so  for  my  dear  little  babe,  that  it 
seems  as  if  I  could  scarcely  endure  it ;  but  for 
the  most  part  I  feel  the  deepest  and  purest  thank- 
fulness that  she  is  at  rest ;  that  whatever  I  may 
have  to  struggle  with,  nothing  can  reach  her. 
Sometimes  I  sink  beneath  it,  but  not  often  now, 
and  I  hope,  that  both  through  the  joy  and  the 
sorrow,  she  may  be  the  means  of  bringing  me 
nearer  to  a  state  in  which  I  may  be  fitted  to  re- 
join her.  It  seems  as  if  I  almost  forgot  earth, 
with  all  its  beauty  and  all  its  blessings,  in  think- 
ing of  those  who  have  entered  within  the  pearl 
gates,  into  that  city  where  none  shall  saj^,  "  I  am 
sick,"  where  God  Himself  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes.  With  this  prospect  be- 
fore us,  surely  we  shall  always  be  found  "  rejoic- 
ing in  hope,  patient  in  tribulation  ;"  and  if  at 


56  MEMOIR    OF  [>Et.  30. 

times  a  feeling  of  un worthiness  so  possesses  our 
hearts,  that  we  can  not  think  an  entrance  into  that 
kingdom  can  be  permitted  us;  let  us  remember 
in  faith,  that  it  is  not  by  works,  but  "  according 
to  His  mercy  He  saveth  us."  Surely,  if  the  Lord 
were  pleased  to  destroy  us,  He  would  not  have 
showed  us  the  things  we  have  heretofore  been 
taught." 

A  family  resided  in  an  alley  in  the  rear 
of  her  residence,  which  had  become  the 
terror  of  the  neighborhood  from  the  vio- 
lent and  imperious  temper  of  the  mother, 
and  the  abandoned  lives  of  her  sons,  two 
of  whom  were  about  being  tried  for  arson 
and  murder. 

The  mind  of  Elizabeth  T.  King  was 
drawn  towards  them,  and,  as  might  be 
expected,  from  the  natural  delicacy  and 
timidity  of  her  feelings,  she  shrank  from 
the  prospect  of  making  them  a  visit. 
While  hesitating  under  the  concern,  she 
stepped  into  a  crowded  omnibus  in  the 


yEt.  30.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  57 

lower  part  of  the  city,  and  as  one  after 
another  of  the  passengers  left  it,  she  un- 
expectedly found  herself  riding  alone  with 
this  woman.  She  felt  no  openness  to  re- 
lieve her  mind  then,  but  had  a  confirma- 
tion of  her  first  impressions  of  duty,  to 
visit  her  in  her  own  house. 

On  parting  from  her,  however,  she  af- 
fectionately commended  her  to  a  Saviours 
love,  to  which  the  woman  made  no  reply, 
but  looked  at  her  with  wild  surprise  as 
though  it  were  a  new  message. 

The  visit  was  paid  next  day,  and  the 
woman's  respectful  and  interested  manner 
showed  that  the  gentle  loving  spirit  of  our 
friend  had  won  upon  her  heart.  The  oppor- 
tunity was  an  open  and  relieving  one,  and 
we  trust  that  He  who  had  sent  the  message 
had  prepared  the  heart  to  receive  it. 

The  woman  was  taken  ill  sometime  af- 
terwards, and  lingered  for  six  months ; 


53 


MEMOIR  OF 


[ML  30. 


but  in  this  time  she  was  mercifully  fav- 
ored to  experience  the  forgiveness  of  her 
sins.  A  new  heart  was  given  her,  and 
she  died  in  the  Christian's  hope  and  trust. 

12  mo.  8th,  1850. — The  recurrence  of 
the  birth-day  of  her  oldest  daughter : — - 

I  have  been  feeling  very  seriously  on  this 
occasion  our  great  responsibility  and  the  con- 
stant need  of  watching,  not  only  over  the  chil- 
dren, but  also  over  ourselves,  that  no  unfaith- 
fulness in  any  way  should  so  dim  our  spiritual 
sight,  or  weaken  our  strength,  as  that  in  the 
time  of  future  need  we  should  be  unable  to  see 
or  to  follow  the  course  which  would  be  most  for 
their  good.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  this,  faith- 
fully to  do  the  present  duty,  little  or  great,  that 
we  may  have  light  and  strength  for  the  rest; 
and  oh,  how  important  does  this  seem,  when  we 
have  to  guide  and  influence  others  who  are 
dearer  than  ourselves ! 

To  a  young  friend  on  the  eve  of  mar- 
riage : — 


JEL  30.]       ELIZABETH    T .  KING. 


59 


Baltimore,  12mo.,  1850. 
I  know  from  experience  that  thy  thoughts 
must  often  be  very  serious  in  looking  forward  to 
such  an  important  event  as  marriage.  Even  un- 
der the  happiest  circumstances,  and  where  the 
most  perfect  confidence  exists,  with  reason,  on 
both  sides,  still  there  are  many  moments  when, 
the  heart,  feeling  its  own  weakness,  bows  in 
deep  humility  before  the  Source  of  Strength, 
asking  for  light  to  see,  and  ability  to  perform, 
all  the  duties  which  belong  to  the  new  and  im- 
portant station.  I  look  to  thee,  knowing  the  in- 
fluence thou  wilt  possess  over  thy  husband,  in 
the  earnest  hope  that  thou  wilt  use  that  influence 
for  his  good ;  that  so  }"Ou  may  go  on  together, 
earning  and  receiving  the  blessing  which  mak- 
eth  truly  rich,  and  unto  which  no  sorrow  is 
added. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  prescribe  any  particu- 
lar course  of  conduct.  I  am  only  desirous  that 
you  may  obey  all  the  intimations  of  duty  which 
are  made  manifest  in  the  secrets  of  your  own 
hearts,  however  little  or  however  great  they 
may  be :  and  my  only  reason  for  desiring  this 


60 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt  30. 


is,  that  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding may  be  added  to  the  other  blessings 
which  in  the  richness  of  His  mercy  He  is  shower- 
ing upon  you,  for,  without  this  crown,  the  others 
lose  their  sweetest  enjoyments.  I  speak  that  I 
do  know,  when  I  assure  you,  that  the  truest,  the 
deepest,  the  most  devoted  affection  given  and 
received,  will  fail  to  satisfy  the  whole  thirst  of 
the  soul,  unless  this  is  also  added. 

I  believe  you  are  both  attached  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  religious  Society,  although  you  may 
not  be  fully  prepared  to  unite  with,  or  at  least 
to  practice  upon  some  of  its  peculiar  views.  May 
I  say,  that  while  I  believe  I  feel  the  most  un- 
limited charity  towards  all  religious  denomi- 
nations, and  heartily  rejoice  in  the  full  convic- 
tion that  many  from  them  all  will  join  the  "  in- 
numerable company,"  in  which  I  trust  we  also 
may  some  day  be  found  ;  I  have  a  decided  be- 
lief that  our  own  views,  in  all  their  strictness 
and  purity,  are  the  most  conducive  to  the  high- 
est spiritual  attainments,  to  the  truest  spiritual 
comfort  and  peace, 


JEt.  30.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  Gl 

To  one  of  her  sisters : — 

Baltimore,  4  mo.,  1851. 
I  have  been  out  riding  to-day,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  opening  spring  really  exhilarated 
my  spirits.  The  buds  are  unfolding,  the  wil- 
lows are  quite  green,  the  grass  is  bright,  and 
there  are  even  some  simple  flowers  among  it. 
I  thought  how  marvelous  must  be  the  loving- 
kindness  of  Him  who  could  lavish  such  beauty 
around  us. 

If  only  our  necessary  wants  had  been  pro- 
vided for,  it  would  have  been  enough  to  excite 
our  gratitude  ;  but  think  of  the  means  provided 
for  our  enjoyment  also. 

In  the  summer  of  1851  she  was  again 
called  upon  to  part  with  an  infant  daugh- 
ter. This  bereavement  was  keenly  felt; 
but  with  quiet  submission  she  could  say, 
"It  is  the  Lord ;  let  Him  do  as  it  seemeth 
Him  good.1' 

She  thus  speaks  of  this  trial  to  a  very 
dear  friend :  — 

6 


62 


MEMOIR  OF 


[.Et.  30. 


Baltimore,  G  mo.,  20th,  1831. 

*  *  *  I  must  very  briefly  give  thee  an 
account  of  our  situation,  knowing  that  thy  ready 
feeling  and  sympathy  will  fill  up  the  outline. 
Words  can  scarcely  describe  my  deep  happiness, 
when  lovely,  perfect  and  apparently  healthy,  my 
darling  babe  was  brought  to  me;  but  our  Fa- 
ther saw  meet  very  soon  to  destroy  these  hopes, 
which  had  almost  become  certainty,  and,  after  a 
day  and  night  of  agonizing  su3pense,  He  took 
our  darling  to  Himself. 

I,  too,  have  been  brought  very  low,  even  to 
the  brink  of  the  grave ;  but  He  has  raised  me  up, 
and  very  earnestly  do  I  desire  that  this  renewed 
chastisement  may  be  the  means  of  weaning  us 
more  from  the  world,  and  causing  us  to  be  wholly 
devoted  to  His  service. 

Now,  my  beloved  friend,  I  can  not  dwell 
longer  upon  this,  neither  is  it  needful.  Thou 
wilt  know  what  the  suffering,  the  sorrow,  the 
awfulness  of  the  near  prospect  of  eternity  must 
have  been.  Thou  wilt  know  what  we  must  have 
felt  in  our  human  weakness,  and  thou  wilt  know, 
too,  what  we  desire,  and  I  humbly  trust,  are,  at 


ML  31.]       ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


63 


times,  favored  to  feel,  not  only  resignation,  but 
acquiescence  and  thankfulness,  in  tlie  undoubted 
belief  that  He  doeth  all  things  well. 

Mayst  thou  be  permitted  to  intercede  for  me, 
that  all  His  purposes  concerning  me  may  be 
fulfilled,  that  in  no  wise  may  I  fall  short  of  His 
requirings. 

To  a  friend  who  had  spoken  rather  com- 
plainingly  of  the  ingratitude  to  be  found 
in  the  world,  she  writes : — ■ 

Baltimore.  12  mo.,  1851. 
Over  sensitiveness  is  only  a  pretty  name  for 
self-love  and  unsubdued  pride,  and  we  must 
learn  to  give,  hoping  for  nothing  again;  to  be 
just  as  kind,  just  as  thoughtful  of  the  comfort 
of  others  as  if  we  had  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  pay 
them. 

I  believe  that  death  must  pass  over  all  our 
natural  feelings,  even  those  which  seem  most 
pure  and  loveljT,  and,  as  we  progress  in  the  new 
life,  that  charity  which  "beareth,"  "hopeth," 
and  "  endureth  all  things,"  which  "  never  faileth,"' 
will  take  the  place  of  our  easily  wounded  and 


04 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Ml  31. 


discouraged  earthly  affections,  and  we  snail  more 
and  more  "  dwell  in  love." 

Ah  how  beautiful  such  a  state  looks;  shall  I 
ever  reach  it  ?  But  as  I  ask  the  question,  the 
words  of  the  Apostle  spring  up  in  my  mind, 
"  I  thank  God  who  give  thus  the  victory,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.''  So  we  are  bound  to  be- 
lieve, that  by  watching  and  striving,  through 
faith  and  obedience,  our  sincere,  earnest  prayers 
will  be  answered,  and  the  Lord  will,  according 
to  His  promise,  perfect  that  which  concerneth 
us. 

I  dwell  mostly  in  the  valley  of  humiliation  ; 
and,  though  it  is  often  bitter  and  painful,  yet  at 
times  I  am  permitted  to  feel  that  the  dews  fall 
gently  there,  and  that  it  is  a  sweet  abiding  place. 

My  great  fear  is  of  bringing  reproach  upon 
the  cause,  of  being  a  stumbling-block  in  the 
way  of  others,  and  my  petition  is  almost  con- 
stant, "Let  not  them  that  love  Thy  name  be 
confounded  because  of  me." 

Baltimore,  3  mo.,  24th,  1852. 
Let  us  try  to  get  ourselves  into  the  right 
spirit,  one  of  quiet  seeking  to  do  the  will  of  our 


JEt  31.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


65 


heavenly  Father,  neither  of  restless  activity,  nor 
selfish  shrinking  from  exertion,*  and  I  have  .no 
doubt  we  shall  be  daily  and  hourly  directed 
where  to  go  and  what  to  do. 

Yery  often  our  infirmities  'will  cause  us  to 
make  humiliating  mistakes,  which  will  also  work 
together  for  our  good,  in  rooting  out  pride  and 
celflshness.  I  do  not  mean  that  we  should  re- 
quire special  direction  about  little  matters.  Bat 
when  "the  eye  is  single,"  the  whole  body  will  be 
full  of  light,  and  we  shall  realize  the  truth  of  the 
promise,  "I  will  guide  thee  by  mine  eye." 

From  her  journal  :— 

5  mo.,  17th.  I  am  and  have  been  much  ex- 
ercised to  know  how  I  can  do  good  to  others, 
there  is  so  much  that  requires  doing.  Indolence 
and  a  love  of  pleasing  interfere  sadly  with  our 
usefulness.  May  I  be  always  ready  to  hear  the 
call,  and  obey  it. 

I  am  also  deeply  exercised  about  my  call 
to  declare  to  others  the  unsearchable  riches  of 

Christ.    Permit  me,  oh  merciful  Lord,  to  commit 

6* 


(j6  MEMOIR    OF  [JEt.  32. 

this  to  Thee!  Thou  knowest  I  desire  to  be  and 
to  do  all  that*  Thou  requirest ;  Thou  knowest 
ray  weakness  and  ignorance.  I  give  it  all  up  to 
Thy  care,  beseeching  that  Thou  wilt  work  in  me 
to  will  and  to  do  of  Thine  own  good  pleasure, 
since  I  humbly  believe  there  is  no  willful  with- 
holding. 

It  will  be  no  cause  of  surprise  to  those 
who  have  thus  far  followed  her  course  to 
learn,  that  though  for  a  season  she  had 
been  in  heaviness,  through  manifold  temp- 
tations, He,  who  was  preparing  her  for 
further  us af illness  in  His  Church,  was  now 
pleased  to  break  her  bonds. 

Not  only  did  He  give  ability  to  perform 
His  will,  but  also  an  abundant  reward  for 
faithfulness.  This  change  is  best  described 
by  her  own  letters  to  a  sister : — 

Baltimore,  8  mo.,  20th,  1852. 
For  many  years  I  have  had  an  impression 
on  my  mind  that  I  should  sometime  be  called 
to  even  more  public  service  in  the  Church  than 


JEl  32.]  .     ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


67 


I  Lave  known  hitherto ;  and  about  a  year  and  a 
half  ago  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  time  had  come. 
Every  reason  that  could  be  urged  against  it,  every 
caution,  every  fear  and  doubt,  have  been  pre- 
sented to  my  mind  with  great  force.  I  was 
ready  to  say,  and  I  did  long  say,  Send  by  whom 
thou  wilt  send,  but  not  by  me.  Still,  thanks  to 
the  long-suffering  kindness  of  our  merciful  Fa- 
ther, seeing  as  I  believe  He  did,  that  it  was  more 
through  weakness  than  willfulness  that  I  fell 
short  of  His  requirings,  He  did  not  cease  to 
strive  until  my  will  was  subdued,  my  reason- 
ings quieted,  and  I  was  made  willing  to  give  up 
all  in  the  obedience  of  faith.  Last  Fourth  day 
morning  I  had  such  a  vision  of  the  love  and  mer- 
cy of  the  Father,  and  of  the  preciousness  of  the 
Saviour,  that  I  felt  as  if  my  will,  even  myself, 
was  entirely  swallowed  up ;  and  I  covenanted 
that,  let  the  bidding  be  what  it  might,  I  would 
gladly  do  it.  I  did  not  expect  the  trial  of  obed- 
ience would  be  so  soon ;  for,  when  I  went  into 
meeting  the  next  morning,  I  had  no  idea  that 
any  thing  would  be  required  of  me.  I  had  not, 
however,  sat  long,  before  a  few  words  presented, 


G8 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  32. 


with  the  conviction  it  would  b3  right  to  express 
tbem.  I  only  asked  clearness,  for  the  fear  of 
man  seemed  taken  away,  and,  with  greater  calm- 
ness than  I  had  supposed  possible,  I  did  speak. 
Since  that  time  I  have  been  very  much  pros- 
trated ;  but  my  mind  has  been  kept  in  so  much 
peace,  that  nothing  has  been  difficult  to  bear. 
Yet  it  was  a  little  thing  to  do  for  Him  who  had 
done  so  much  for  me ;  neither  could  I  have  done 
it  without  His  power:  it  was  all  His  work,  yet 
He  rewards  it  so  sweetly  !  In  my  great  debility 
I  have  been  folded  like  a  weary  child  in  the 
arms  of  Infinite  Love  and  Compassion.  I  have 
realized  the  promise,  "  As  one  whom  his  mother 
comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you."  I  can  not, 
indeed  I  scarcely  dare  speak,  of  the  blessed  com- 
munion with  the  Father,  with  which  I  have  been 
favored,  of  the  trust  that  I  was  indeed  a  child; 
only  that  I  would  say  to  thee,  Oh  magnify  the 
Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt  His  name  toge- 
ther. I  know  very  well  that  I  can  not  remain 
long  on  the  mount.  I  know  that  I  must  again 
take  up  my  wilderness  journey,  and  struggle 
with  my  infirmities  of  flesh  and  spirit,  with  out- 


32.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  69 

ward  trial  and  inward  temptation  ;  but  the  prom- 
ise is,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  j"  "  my 
God  shall  supply  all  your  need,  according  to 
His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus."* 

To  an  intimate  friend  :  — 

Baltimore,  9  mo.,  12th,  1852 

I  know,  my  dear   ,  thou  hast  often 

travailed  with  and  for  me  in  the  desire  that  all 
the  Lord's  requirings  might  be  submitted  to  in 
faith  ;  therefore,  I  may  ask  thee  to  join  with  me 
in  reverent  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  has  burst 
my  bonds,  and  enabled  me  to  make  the  sacrifice 
called  for  at  my  hands.  To  Him  be  the  praise 
of  His  own  work.  But,  my  beloved  friend,  wilt 
thon  join  with  me  in  humble  and  fervent  peti- 
tions, that  He  will  be  pleased  to  keep  me,  poor, 
weak  child  as  I  am,  from  errors  on  every  hand 
— the  snares  and  temptations  that  beset  us — 
from  going  before  or  lagging  behind  the  Divine 
Leader  ? 

I  have  much  to  feel  of  the  marvelous  loving 
kindness  and  tender  mercy  of  our  compassionate 

*  It  may  be  well  to  remark  that  the  religious  Society  of 
Friends  believe  that  a  call  and  qualification  for  the  ministry 
is  not  confined  to  one  sex. 


70  MEMOIR    OF  [ML  32. 

Lord ;  but  I  am  more  engaged  to  consider  the 
importance,  and  crave  strength  for  the  perform- 
ance  of  present  duties,  than  to  feed  on  yester- 
day's manna,  sweet  and  precious  and  nourishing 
as  it  was. 

Baltimore,  9  mo.,  23d,  1852. 

We  serve  One  who  is  the  best  of  Masters, 
and  He  calls  for  no  service  which  He  does  not 
give  strength  to  perform  ;  therefore,  all  we  have 
to  do,  is  to  lie  prostrate  before  Him,  in  the  confid- 
ing trust  that  "  He  knoweth  our  frame,"  and  re- 
gardeth  our  low  estate. 

Since  we  have  only  the  duty  of  the  present 
moment  to  think  of  and  perform,  without  look- 
ing back  with  unavailing  regret,  or  forward  with 
unavailing  anxiety;  since  we  are  commanded  to 
be  careful  for  nothing,  how  quiet  our  minds 
should  always  be.  If  we  can  but  feel,  that  how- 
ever weak  and  unworthy  we  are,  we  can  with 
humble  sincerity  adopt  the  language,  "  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee,  and  there  is  none 
upon  earth  I  desire  besides  Thee.'    I  am  very 

jealous  over  myself,  my  dear  ,  lest  in 

seeking  the  precious  sympathy  of  my  friends, 


JEL3Z]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING.  71 

self,  our  potent  tormentor  and  deceiver,  should 
be  fed.  There  is  also  danger  of  saying  too  much 
on  these  subjects,  without  sufficiently  feeling  the 
life  to  arise  and  accompany  the  words. 

I  think  we  have  seen  a  superficial  tendency 
so  prevalent  as  to  render  great  care  necessary 
not  to  "  darken  counsel  by  words  without  knowl- 
edge." It  is  so  necessary  to  keep  little,  low  and 
simple,  and  this  is  difficult  for  the  spirit  of  man, 
which  would  far  rather  spread  out  in  the  branch- 
es than  deepen  in  the  root. 

May  He  whom  we  truly  desire  to  serve  watch 
over  and  guard  us  in  every  way,  and  j^erfect  that 
which  concerneth  us,  according  to  His  gracious 
promise. 

V-  V-  V  5»  \lr 

But  oh,  my  dear,  what  are  we,  what  am  I, 
trembling,  helpless,  frail,  sinking  to  the  earth, 
unless  constantly  upheld  ? 

This  humiliating  sense  of  weakness  is  not  un- 
frequently  a  snare  to  me ;  but  I  trust  I  am  be- 
ginning to  feel  that  it  is  not  in  our  own  strength 
we  are  called  upon  to  act.  We  must  go  forth 
when  bidden,  relying  that  He  who  sends  us  to 


72 


MEMOIR  OF 


[>£t.  32. 


the  battle  will  furnish  weapons,  armor  and  abil- 
ity out  of  His  abundance. 

Truly  we  may  adopt  the  language,  "  How 
great  is  His  mercy  towards  them  that  fear  Him," 
blotting  out  our  transgressions,  sustaining  our 
weakness,  and  proving  Himself  to  be  "  the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies,  and  God  of  all  consolation." 

My  heart  seems  to  flow  forth  in  this  manner, 
though  under  a  deep  sense  of  my  un worthiness 
of  the  least  evidence  of  this  abiding  love  ;  and  I 

feel  drawn  towards  thee,  dear  ,  in  a  sweet 

quietness  of  spirit. 

In  this  I  trust  we  may  mingle  together  be- 
fore the  Throne  of  Grace,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  incense  of  adoration  and  praise  may  rise  not 
unacceptably  from  our  hearts,  as  a  fitting  tribute 
from  one  at  least  who  has  had  much  forgiven. 

Again  recurring  to  the  journal,  the  fol- 
lowing entry  occurs : — 

9  mo.,  30th,  1852.  I  want  very  much  to  be 
able  to  please  our  young  people,  that  they  may 
not  be  repelled  by  any  dullness  even — that  I  may 


JEL32]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  73 

so  adorn  the  doctrine  as  to  win  them  to  better 
things. 

In  this  I  trust  it  is  not  merely  their  affection 
I  seek.  I  believe  there  is  a  better  motive,  but  it 
requires  great  care,  lest  self-seeking  should  not 
only  come  in,  but  gain  the  ascendancy. 

Surely  it  is  very  desirable,  placed  in  such  a 
difficult  position  as  we  are,  to  maintain  cheerful- 
ness without  levity,  and  to  lead  the  conversation 
in  mixed  society  to  profitable  things. 

It  may  not  ah -ays  be  suitable  to  introduce 
serious  or  religious  subjects,  as,  unless  the  latter 
is  done  in  the  right  way  and  time,  and  under  a 
little  of  the  right  authority,  it  disgusts  instead 
of  benefiting. 

The  following  tribute  to  her  memory 
from  one  of  her  young  friends,  will  show 
that  this  desire  was  not  without  fruit. 

"  Together  with  a  knowledge  of  books,  and  an 
appreciation  of  the  charms  of  literature,  she  pos- 
sessed an  intense  love  for  the  beautiful  works  of 
our  heavenly  Father,  as  displaj^ed  in  nature. 

41 A  mind  so  constituted  could  not  fail  to  attract 
7 


74 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  32. 


the  intelligent  young  people  of  her  acquaintance, 
to  whom  she  was  easily  accessible,  and  in  whose 
welfare  she  took  a  lively  interest. 

"  But  what  was  most  remarkable,  as  well  as 
most  valuable,  in  her  intercourse  with  her  younger 
friends,  was  the  deep  religious  feeling,  the  ever 
present  sense  of  religious  obligation,  which  har- 
monized her  own  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  was 
impressed  deeply  upon  all  those  who  had  the 
pleasure  of  her  intimate  acquaintance,  both  by 
the  silent  influence  of  example,  and  the  gentle 
voice  of  affectionate  precept." 

The  sentiment  which  pervades  the  pre- 
ceding extract  was  one  w^hich  greatly  in- 
fluenced her  in  society.  To  remarkable 
quickness  of  parts,  she  united  a  simplicity 
of  manner,  which  wTas  the  natural  expres- 
sion of  her  artless  and  ingenuous  character. 
A  stranger  would  be  impressed  by  the 
ease  with  which  she  placed  herself  by  the 
side  of  the  younger  members  of  the  social 
circle,  and  the  gentle  vivacity  with  which 


fit  32.]        ELIZABETH   T.  KING. 


75 


she  entered  into  the  conversation,  wholly 
unconscious  of  superiority,  and  of  the 
sweet  influence  she  was  shedding  around 
her. 

10  mo.,  1st,  1852.  Yesterday  I  felt  called 
upon  to  speak  a  few  words  in  meeting.  The 
struggle  was  great,  from  the  fear  that  it  was  in 
my  own  will  and  imagination.  But  I  earnestly 
desired  to  be  kept  from  reasoning,  and  appealing 
to  the  Searcher  of  Hearts  to  show  me  if  I  was 
mistaken,  I  repeated  a  few  words.  After  meet- 
ing I  was  assailed  by  a  temptation,  of  which  I. 
Penington  speaks,  that  I  ought  to  know  whether 
I  had  been  right,  in  order  to  be  able  to  distin- 
guish again. 

This  is  a  subtle  insinuation,  but  it  was  shown 
me  that  I  was  not  to  trouble  myself  about  it, 
but  say,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  my  good 
Master  will  teach  me  in  His  own  time." 

After  a  little  rest,  my  mind  settled  into  quiet 
peace,  and  has  so  continued  ;  nevertheless  I  can 
truly  say,  I  abhor  myseif,  and  feel  the  enemy 
without,  and  self  within,  are  so  continually  tor- 


76 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  32. 


meriting,  that  though  there  is  a  state  into  which 
they  can  not  enter,  they  still  annoy  and  distress. 

To  a  young  friend : — 

Baltimore,  12  mo.,  21st,  1852. 

I  have  had  quite  a  siege  with  infirmities  of 
various  kinds,  since  Yearly  Meeting.  My  hands 
were  disabled  for  about  a  month,  being  poisoned 
from  gathering  autumn  leaves,  but  I  find,  as  I 
have  frequently  before  done,  that  it  is  not  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed,  but  the 
spirit  in  which  we  meet  them,  that  constitutes 
our  comfort;  and  that  this  may  be  undisturbed,  if 
we  seek  for  and  cherish  a  feeling  of  quiet  submis- 
sion, whatever  may  be  the  privations  alloted  us. 

It  has  very  sorrowfully  impressed  my  mind 
since  I  have  been  sick,  how  much  strength  and 
peace  and  comfort  are  lost  from  want  of  an  un- 
reserved dedication.  Many  feel  a  strong  desire 
to  do  right,  and  make  some,  it  may  be  many, 
sacrifices,  but  something  is  still  kept  back.  The 
will  is  not  yet  entirely  subdued,  and  they  miss 
of  the  sweet  and  abundant  peace  with  which  He, 
who  is  a  rich  re  warder  of  all  who  diligently  seek 


JEt  32.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  77 

Him,  fills  the  heart  of  His  humble  and  obedient 
children.  I  have  longed  to  plead  with  those 
that  were  near,  and  with  those  that  were  far  off, 
to  delay  no  longer — to  fill  themselves  no  longer 
with  the  miserable  husks  of  earthly  gratifications, 
but  to  turn  with  all  their  heart  to  the  tender 
Father,  the  merciful  Saviour,  whose  love  has  so 
long  pursued  them,  and  who  is  still  waiting  to 
be  gracious.  Words  fail  to  express  the  marvel- 
ous loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy  of  our  God 
even  to  the  poorest  and  most  unworthy  of  His 
creatures;  how  can  any  longer  stand  aloof? 

To  a  sister: — ■ 

Baltimore,  1  mo.,  5th,  1853. 

I  can  fully  sympathize  with  thee  in  feeling, 
that  mine  enemies  "  are  lively  and  they  are 
strong,"  but  I  have  lately  had  great  comfort  in 
another  expression  of  the  Psalmist,  "Mine  ad- 
versaries are  all  before  Thee." 

Not  a  temptation,  not  a  besetment,  not  a 
weakness,  but  He  sees,  and  He  that  is  in  us,  is 
greater  than  he  that  is  in  the  world. 

We  appeal  to  Him  in  sincerity,  that  we  do 

above  all  things  desire  to  love  and  serve  Him  ; 
7-* 


78 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  32. 


let  us  have  faith  in  His  unutterable  love  and 
compassion,  that  He  will  in  His  own  time,  per- 
fect that  which  concerneth  us. 

Let  us  commit  ourselves  to  Him  in  perfect 
trust,  that  the  sins  which  we  unwillingly  commit 
are  regarded  by  Him  with  a  pitying  eye ;  that 
the  fountain  set  open,  is  always  ready  for  our 
cleansing,  and  that,  being  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption,  we  may  rise  to  the  glo- 
rious liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 

We  are  not  to  wait  until,  by  painful  effort,  we 
have  tried  to  make  ourselves  fit,  but  we  are  to 
come  noiv,  just  as  we  are,  just  as  the  lepers,  the 
sick,  the  blind,  and  helpless,  came  of  old,  and 
believe  that  His  mercy  is  now  extended,  that 
His  arm  is  now  underneath  for  our  support.  I 
have  sometimes  such  views  of  the  matchless  love 
and  condescension  of  our  heavenly  Father,  as 
are  inexpressible. 

I  so  long  that  those  who  hold  themselves  aloof 
from  His  calls,  and  seek  pleasure  only  in  the 
world,  might  come  and  see  how  good  the  Lord 
is,  that  my  tears  are  often  ready  to  fall  in  lament- 
ing that  they  will  persist  in  depriving  themselves, 


J£t.  32.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


79 


not  only  of  happiness  in  the  world  to  come,  but 
in  this  also. 

To  a  sister : — 

Baltimore,  2  mo.,  13th,  1853. 

I  went  to  see  the  other  day  ;  she  is  suffer- 
ing keenly  from  her  loss,  but  in  submission.  In 
the  course  of  conversation,  she  said  she  had  been 
made  to  feel  very  forcibly  that  to  be  any  thing, 
we  must  be  nothing. 

We  can  not  be  too  strongly  convinced  of  this, 
yet  the  lesson  of  nothingness  is  very  difficult  to 
learn.  Even  with  good  motives,  with  a  strong- 
desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  others,  we  may 
sadly  err  by  working  in  our  own  strength.  The 
authority  must  always  be,  "  Have  not  /  com- 
manded thee?" 

As  we  are  willing  and  obedient,  the  field  of 
labor  will  open  before  us  more  widely,  though 
it  may  not  be  just  that  in  which  we  would  pre- 
fer to  work. 

To  one  of  her  sisters  : — 


80 


MEMOIR  OF 


[.Et.  32. 


Baltimore,  3  mo.,  1853. 

I  had  a  letter  from  a  day  or  two  since. 

It  seemed  to  fall  like  dew  on  the  mown  grass,  I 
felt  so  withered  and  dry,  the  remembrance  of 
his  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  truly  seems 
careful  for  nothing,  was  quite  refreshing. 

It  was  after  an  act  of  required  obedience  that 
I  have  felt  thus  stripped  and  poor,  an  evidence 
that  the  dealings  of  our  wise  and  gracious  Master 
are  mysterious ;  while  the  clay  is  not  to  say  to 
him  that  fashioneth  it:  "  What  makest  Thou?" 
No  doubt  if  we  are  thoroughly  purged,  it  must 
be  by  the  spirit  of  judgment,  and  the  spirit  of 
burning,  and  so  the  work  is  accomplished,  let 
Him  use  the  means  He  seeth  meet. 

But  we  must  remember,  that  the  sun  is  always 
shining,  however  dark  the  clouds  may  be,  and 
the  power  of  our  God,  and  the  mercy  of  our 
Saviour  are  the  same,  even  though  in  our  weak- 
ness we  can  not  see  them  clearly.  His  blessed 
will  be  done  in  and  by  us ! 

Oh !  that  He  may  in  His  mercy  qualify  us  all 
in  some  degree  to  labor  for  the  advancement  of 
His  cause,  that  through  whatever  self-denial  or 


jEt  32.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


81 


suffering  on  our  part,  some  poor  wandering 
sheep  may  be  brought  into  the  fold  of  everlast- 
ing peace. 

To  a  sister : — 

Baltimore,  5  mo.,  11th,  185a 
It  is  the  entire  giving  up  that  is  wanted,  to 
bring  us  to  the  peace  which  would  make  up  for 
every  thing  else,  and  which,  from  holding  back, 
we  may,  indeed  we  do,  fail  in  acquiring.  I  had 
to  express  something  of  this  in  meeting  to-day. 
desiring  that  we  may  know  the  "  God  of  peace  to 
sanctify  us  wholly." 

My  way  is  so  wonderfully  made  in  my  great 
weakness,  that  it  is  marvelous  to  myself.  "  Did 
any  ever  trust  in  the  Lord  and  were  confounded  ?" 
Ob,  my  dear,  I  desire  to  speak  in  the  deepest 
reverence  and  humility,  but  also  with  the  deepest 
gratitude  for  the  help  I  have  experienced,  for  the 
extension  of  so  much  mercy  to  me  so  unworthy. 

I  have  been  reading  one  of  the  children's 
books,  "Father  Brighthopes."  It  is  a  very  pretty 
one.  One  paragraph  at  the  close,  seemed  to  me 
to  express  a  very  enviable  condition.    "  I  am 


82 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Ml  32. 


going  home.  Our  Father  has  given  me  my  work 
to  do,  and  it  is  almost  done.  Oh,  would  I  could 
tell  you  how  joyfully  I  shall  put  off  corruption 
for  incorruption,  and  exchange  mortality  for  im- 
mortality." I  sometimes  feel,  when  weary  of  the 
conflict  and  almost  ready  to  faint  by  the  way, 
what  an  unspeakable  comfort  it  i3  to  look  for- 
ward to  the  time  when,  through  the  merits  of 
the  Eedeemer,  we  may  be  permitted  to  join  the 
company  of  those  who  have  come  out  of  great 
tribulation.  To  enter  that  city  whose  inhabi- 
tants shall  no  more  say,  "  I  am  sick ;"  where 
u  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow 
nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more 
pain ;"  but  "the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  shall  feed  them,  and  lead  them  unto  living 
fountains  of  waters,  and  God  Himself  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

To  return  to  her  journal : 

5th  mo.,  16th,  1853.  This  morning  it  seems 
forcibly  impressed  upon  my  mind,  that  we  must 
keep  ourselves  in  a  state  of  readiness  to  hear 
and  obey  every  call  to  service,  which  our  Mas- 


^Et.  32.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  83 

ter  may  vouchsafe.  So  much  time,  so  many  op- 
portunities for  usefulness,  are  lost,  because  we 
are  busy  here  and  there,  and  neglecting  the  one 
charge  which  is  of  the  most  importance. 

24th.  A  few  words  presented  in  meeting  this 
morning,  and  remembering  former  experience, 
I  thought  it  was  safest  to  utter  them.  I  found 
peace,  great  peace,  afterwards  ;  mainly  I  thought 
because  I  was  willing  and  strengthened  to  speak 
so  as  to  be  heard.  But  ah,  how  subtle  and  how 
powerful  is  the  enemy  !  As  John  Barclay  says, 
"  The  approbation,  the  regard,  the  sympathy  of 
such  as  love  what  is  good,  have  required  from 
me  all  the  watchfulness,  all  the  earnest  desires 
for  preservation,  that  I  have  been  blessed  with." 
The  unity  and  kindness  of  friends,  with  the 
sense  of  peace  and  relief,  were  used  by  him,  in 
conjunction  with  the  weakness  of  nature,  and 
the  strength  of  self-love,  to  endeavor  to  exalt 
me,  and  I  have  been  so  buffeted  with  these  in- 
sinuations, that  I  have  suffered  greatly. 

The  summer  of  this  year  was  passed  in 
New  Bedford  for  the  benefit  of  her  health. 


84 


MEMOIR  OF 


[J3t  33. 


The  rest  and  refreshment  of  the  country 
did  not,  however,  render  her  forgetful  of 
the  great  object  of  her  life.  The  desire  of 
her  favorite  Herbert  was  ever  in  her  mind — 

"  Oh  that  I  were  the  orange  tree, 

That  busy  plant, 
Then  should  I  ever  laden  bo, 

And  never  want 
Some  fruit  for  Him  that  dresseth  me." 

A  pleasant  evening  walk  terminated  in 
a  visit  to  one  under  some  depression,  and 
to  whom  E.  T.  K.  felt  drawn  to  offer  a  few 
words  of  encouragement,  which  even  now 
live  in  the  memory  of  her  to  whom  they 
were  addressed. 

To  two  of  her  friends  at  a  distance,  who 
were  similarly  circumstanced,  the  following 
letter  was  addressed  : 

New  Bedford,  8  mo,  15th,  1853 

My  Dear  Friends, 

My  mind  has  been  turned  to  you  to-day  with 
so  much  tender  sympathy  and  interest,  that  I 
thought  I  should  feel  best  satisfied  to  express  it 


JEt  33.]       ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  85 

to  you,  although  I  know  myself  to  be  so  poor 
and  weak  that  I  can  hardly  believe  that  any 
thing  I  can  say  can  be  of  any  interest  or  value. 

I  have  desired,  my  dear  friends,  that  both 
you  and  I  may  be  favored  to  keep  very  near  to 
our  dear  Saviour — daily,  even  hourly,  waiting 
upon  Him  to  know  what  He  would  have  us  to 
do,  and  then  He  will  comfort  us  under  every 
trial,  strengthen  us  in  all  our  weakness,  and  give 
a  truer  enjoyment  of  every  blessing  with  which 
we  are  favored  through  the  unmerited  mercy  of 
our  kind  Father.  I  have  thought  a  great  deal 
of  the  blessedness  of  being  thus  daily  taught — 
of  being  kept  in  His  spirit  who  was  '  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart ;'  and  I  have  believed  that  His 
love  was  peculiarly  towards  you,  and  that  hav- 
ing had  experience  in  degree  bo:h  of  His  guid- 
ing and  protecting  care,  He  is  waiting  to  be  more 
and  more  gracious  to  yon,  as  simple  obedience  to 
the  dictates  of  His  Holy  Spirit  is  yielded,  both 
in  little  things  and  great.  I  trust  that  the  many 
sweet  and  precious  promises  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures wrill  be  applied  to  you  and  real iz 3d  in  your 
experience,  and  that  He  who  1  sticketh  closer 


86  MEMOI  It    O  F  j^£t.  33. 

than  a  brother'  will  be  a  companion  in  hours  of 
loneliness  and  a  comforter  in  times  of  trial,  as 
He  will  assuredly  be  to  His  obedient  and  de- 
pendent children. 

May  we  then  be  favored  to  'go  on  from 
strength  to  strength,'  not  satisfied  with  any  thing 
but  a  total  resignation  of  our  wills  and  our  affec- 
tions— until  every  thought  even  'is  brought  into 
captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,'  for  this  is  the 
only  way  that  true  peace  and  rest  can  be  attained. 

With  much  tender  affection  and  earnest  de- 
sires that  we  may  '  grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, ' 
I  am  very  sincerely  your  friend. 

From  her  journal  : — 

8mo.,  17th.  Some  self-abasement  and  con- 
trition under  a  sense  of  my  great  unworthiness, 
which  I  desire  to  record  as  a  favor.  I  hope, 
when  speaking  of  my  own  great  sinfulness,  to 
separate  it  entirely  from  the  sense  of  the  pardon- 
ing mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  which  I  be- 
lieve is  extended  to  me  ;  and  I  believe,  too,  that 


£t.33.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  87 


He  is  able  to  sanctify  me  wholly.  c  Behold,  I 
am  the  Lord,  the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  is  any 
thing  too  hard  for  me  ?' 

Ob,  my  blessed  Master,  keep  me  very  close 
to  Thee.  Let  me  not,  through  want  of  faith  or 
submission,  in  any  degree  fall  short  of  Thy  re- 
quirings.  I  desire  to  commit  my  way  wholly 
unto  Thee,  to  be  directed  as  Thou  sees  meet. 
The  humble  desire  of  my  soul  is  that  Thou 
wouldst  enable  me  to  labor  for  the  promotion  of 
Thy  blessed  cause.  Enable  me,  if  Thou  seest 
meet,  to  win  souls  to  Thee,  to  adorn  the  doctrine 
in  all  things.  Oh  send  forth  Thy  light  and  Thy 
truth  into  the  world,  constrain  the  sons  of  men 
to  leave  lying  vanities  and  come  to  Thee,  in 
whom  alone  they  can  find  peace. 

Oh,  Father,  Thou  knowest  the  earnestness 
with  which  I  crave  entire  purification,  that  the 
fruits  of  Thy  Spirit  maybe  more  manifest  in  me, 
that  I  may  be  kept  in  implicit  obedience  to  Thy 
will.  Thou  knowest  that  I  am  beset  with  infir- 
mities, but  Thy  power  is  above  all.  Thou  hast 
been  pleased  to  open  to  me  the  riches  of  Thy 
mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  in  that  do  I  trust. 


88 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  33. 


From  this  place  she  thus  writes  to  her 
husband : 

New  Bedford,  8  mo.,  1853. 

"With  regard  to  my  spiritual  condition,  I  think 
I  may  humbly  and  thankfully  say,  that  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  little  growth,  in  this,  that 
I  see  my  faults  more  clearly,  which  conduces  to 
humility,  and  charity  also.  Not  but  that  I 
sometimes  slide  from  this,  but  I  trust  that  in 
general  I  have  more  love,  though  my  soul  has 
been  so  often  pained  with  a  liberty  which  seems 
riot  of  the  truth,  that  I  am  afraid  I  let  in  a 
judging  spirit. 

I  had  such  an  impression  made  on  my  mind 
the  other  evening,  during  the  children's  reading, 
by  this  text,  that  I  think  I  will  tell  thee.  And 
he  did  not  many  mighty  works  there  because  of 
their  unbelief."  No  doubt  there  would  be  much 
more  done  for  us,  if  we  would  but  follow  the  in- 
junction "Be  not  afraid,  only  believe.11 
T  May  we  be  favored  to  go  on  "from  faith  to 
faith,"  from  "strength  to  strength  "  until  we  ob- 
tain  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus. 


ML  33L]      ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


89 


Bat  oh,  Low  deeply  and  painfully  I  feel,  that 
there  are  so  many,  who  for  want  of  a  single  eye 
and  a  simple  faith,  are  falling  short  of  the  requi- 
sitions, which  would  conduce  to  their  own  peace 
as  well  as  usefulness. 

To  the  same  : — 

New  Bedford,  8  mo.,  20th,  1853. 
This  afternoon  we  went  down  to  the  funeral  of 
Uncle  A.'s  child.    It  was  altogether  a  comfort- 
ing time.     After  had  spoken  beautifully, 

in  allusion  to  the  little  one  thus  early  taken 
from  the  storms  of  life,  I  added  a  few  -words  to 
this  effect,  that  I  had  felt  such  a  firm  conviction 
that  it  was  out  of  the  very  abundance  of  the 
loving  kindness  and  tender  mercy  of  our  heav- 
enly Father,  that  He  chasteneth  His  children, 
that  I  desired  that  all  of  us,  who  had  been  privi- 
leged to  partake  of  His  chastisement — and  who 
has  not  drunk  of  the  cup  of  sorrow  ? — might  be 
thereby  drawn  in  closer  bonds  of  love  to  Him, 
that  none  of  His  gracious  purposes  therein  might 
be  frustrated,  for  He  doth  not  afflict  willingly, 

nor  grieve  the  children  of  men.    The  fear  came 
8* 


90 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEl  33. 


in  like  a  flood  after  I  had  spoken,  that  perhaps 
I  had  only  spoiled  the  effect  of  the  previous 
communication,  but  as  soon  as  we  rose,  this 
passed  away,  and  a  quiet  feeling,  as  of  resting 
my  weary  head  on  the  Saviour's  bosom,  was 
granted. 

To  the  same : — 

New  Bedford,  8  mo.  27th,  1853. 
I  think  I  missed  my  way  in  meeting  this 
morning.  Yery  soon  after  we  sat  down,  I  was 
shown  very  clearly  that  a  mistake  was  made  by 
many,  in  understanding  that  the  office  of  the 
Redeemer,  in  saving  us  from  sin,  was  that  He 
saved  us  from  the  consequences  and  punishment 
of  sin,  instead  of  sin  itself.  It  did  not,  at  first, 
occur  to  me  that  this  was  for  any  one  but  myself, 
but  it  kept  coming  up  before  me,  and  just  before 
meeting  broke,  it  seemed  that  I  ought  to  express 
it.  This  disturbed  me  a  little,  and  I  thought  I 
would  examine  more  closely  what  was  on  my 
mind,  for  there  is  so  much  danger  in  venturing 
upon  doctrinal  points,  especially  the  offices  of  the 
Saviour,  and  before  my  mind  was  fairly  settled, 


JEt.  33.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


91 


meeting  broke.  I  think  I  should  have  had  a  more 
comfortable  day,  if  I  had  risked  the  expression, 
in  a  little  more  faith  that  the  Master  would,  ac- 
cording to  His  promise,  be  with  my  mouth,  and 
teach  me  what  I  should  say ;  but  I  hope  to  be 
forgiven,  as  the  disobedience  was  not  willful. 

I  went  to  meeting  feeling  rather  poorly,  and 
so  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  my  manifold  in- 
firmities, that  I  could  not  believe  it  possible  I 
should  have  any  thing  for  others,  but  only  hoped 
I  might  be  able  to  gather  a  little  good  for  my- 
self 

However,  as  we  learn  by  what  we  suffer,  I 
hope  I  shall  be  more  prompt  in  future.  As  we 
came  out  of  meeting,  John  K.  Davis  stopped  me 
to  say,  that  he  had  been  thinking  a  great  deal 
about  the  first  sermon  his  grandfather  preached, 
"  Disobedience  makes  a  long  wilderness  journey, 
but  faithfulness  cuts  it  short." 

To  the  same : — ■ 

New  Bedford,  9  mo.  3d,  1853. 
This  morning,  in  meeting,  the  concern  I  had 
last  First  Day  seemed  unexpectedly  to  revive, 


92 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  33. 


though  I  thought  I  should  distrust  it,  if  it  did, 
and  think  it  was  merely  my  own  work.  How- 
ever, it  seemed  safest  to  express  it — as  nearly  as 
I  remember  in  this  way :  "  It  appeared  to  me 
there  was  an  error  committed  by  many  in  dwell- 
ing too  exclusively  on  the  office  of  the  Saviour 
in  saving  them  from  the  consequences  and  pun- 
ishment of  sin,  rather  than  from  sin  itself — 
whereas  He  is  not  only  our  atoning  sacrifice, 
our  Mediator  and  Intercessor  with  the  Father, 
but  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our 
hearts,  He  purines  them  and  makes  them  fit 
temples  for  Himself  to  dwell  in.  But  He  can 
not  have  fellowship  with  unrighteousness,  there- 
fore He  can  not  dwell  in  our  hearts,  although  He 
may  visit  them  by  His  love,  unless  they  are 
made  pure,  'even  as  He  is  pure.'  I  have  desired, 
dear  friends,  that  we  may  none  of  us  stop  short 
of  entire  conformity  to  the  Divine  will,  that  we 
may  realiza  this  blessed  experience,  that  He 
may  come  in  and  make  His  abode  with  us." 

It  was  truly  in  weakness  and  in  fear  and  in 
much  trembling,  that  I  uttered  these  few  words, 
and  it  shook  my  bodily  frame  so  that  after  meet- 


Mi.  33.]        ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  93 

ing,  which  soon  closed,  I  could  scarcely  stand, 
but  my  mind  was  covered  with  a  degree  of  that 
sweet  peace  which  is  worth  any  sacrifice  to  ob- 
tain.   Is  it  not  marvelous  how  kindly  I  an 
dealt  with  ? 

New  York,  9  mo.  14th,  1853. 
It  is  quite  late,  my  dear  husband,  and  I  have 
no  very  satisfactory  materials  for  writing,  but  I 
wanted  so  much  to  make  thee  a  sharer  in  the 
sweet  feelings  of  gratitude  I  have  had  to-day  for 
our  preservation  every  wa}T,  that  I  could  not  re- 
frain from  a  few  words  of  communion  with  thee. 
I  feel  so  satisfied  with  our  situation,  that  it  was 
best  to  go,  and  best  now  to  return,  and  on  look- 
ing back  I  can  truly  say  that  the  assurance 
given  the  morning  I  left  home,  "  Behold  the 
Lord  thy  God  is  with  thee  whithersoever  thou 
goest"  has  been  fully  realized ;  I  have  had  so 
much  experience  of  His  love,  not  only  in  His 
sensible  presence,  but  also  in  the  withdrawal  of 
it — so  that  not  only  the  fatness  of  the  earth  but 
the  dew  of  heaven  has  been  my  portion — I  say 
this  in  reverent  thankfulness,  and  now  I  do 


94 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Ms  33. 


earnestly  crave  that  we  may  follow  on  to  know 
the  Lord  yet  more  and  more,  and  I  believe  the 
injunction  to  us  is,  in  the  midst  of  our  weakness 
and  infirmities,  "  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord  forever, 
for  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength." 
So  I  trust  we  may  be  favored  to  go  on  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  God— for  Pie  can  not  fail  us 
if  we  keep  close  to  Him.  Truly  this  evening 
my  cup  runneth  over — and  I  ask,  "  What  shall 
we  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  His  benefits  ?" 
Ob,  my  dearest,  what  an  unspeakable  favor  to 
have  this  feeling  of  peace  after  this  visit,  instead 
of  condemnation,  for  although  I  have  nothing  to 
speak  of  but  infirmities,  it  is  such  a  mercy  to 
have  been  kept — to  feel  that  even  the  sins  I  may 
have  committed  have  gone  beforehand  to  judg- 
ment, that  they  have  not  been  willful,  that  they 
have  not  been  persisted  in,  and  humbly  to  trust 
that  they  are  forgiven,  washed  away  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  , 
The  accident  on  the  Sound  steamer  last  week, 
made  us  a  little  thoughtful,  but  on  lying  down 
greatly  fatigued,  and  having  gone  through  so 
much  excitement  that  I  feared  I  could  not  arrive 


jEt.  3?,.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  9  J 

at  any  quiet  of  body  or  mind,  these  words 
seemed  given  as  my  portion,  " 1  will  both  lay 
me  down  in  peace  and  sleep,  for  Thou,  Lord, 
only,  makest  me  dwell  in  safety/'  I  can  not  ex- 
press to  thee,  my  dearest  husband,  my  feelings 
of  gratitude  for  this  most  unexpected  boon  of 
sweet  peace.  I  have  gone  on  my  way  in  such 
weakness  and  trembling,  feeling  my  own  noth- 
ingness so  much,  that  now  to  be  blessed  in  this 
manner,  seems  an  unutterable  favor.  I  hope  I 
have  not  seemed  to  wish  to  display  my  treasures 
— they  are  not  mine,  but  His  who  can,  and  who 
no  doubt  will,  resume  them,  for  we  are  not  to  be 
trusted  long  with  such — but  I  want  thee  to  unite 
with  me  in  thanksgiving,  and  in  earnest  seeking 
to  know  and  to  do  more  entirely  the  will  of  Him, 
who  has  blessed  us  more  abundantly  than  we  can 
ask  or  think. 

A  letter  to  one  of  her  sisters : — 

Baltimore,  11  mo.,  27th,  1853. 
I  had  a  view  to-day  of  the  nature  of  the  prayer 
of  faith,  which  was  very  instructive  to  me.  It 
was  shown  me  that  we  do  injustice  to  the  charac- 


95 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  33. 


ter  of  the  Father  of  mercies,  by  the  doubting 
manner  in  which  we  prefer  our  petition — that  He 
is  far  more  ready  to  give  us  good  gifts  than  we 
are  to  ask  for  them.  He  loved  us  before  we 
loved  Him,  while  we  were  yet  in  sin ;  how  much 
more  will  He  love  us  when  we  are  earnestly  de- 
siring to  forsake  it,  and  turn  unto  Him  with  full 
purpose  of  heart.  Since  we  can  truly  say  that 
we  desire  neither  outward  comforts  nor  inward 
consolations,  but  only  that  we  may  perfect  holi- 
ness in  His  fear,  we  are  bound  to  believe  we 
have  the  petitions  we  desire  of  Him,  and  to 
come  to  Him  in  faith,  nothing  doubting. 

On  the  opening  of  the  new  year  she 
thus  writes  to  a  friend  who  was  laboring 
under  discouragements : 

Baltimore,  1  mo.,  1st,  1854. 
I  did  not  have  an  opportunity,  my  dear 
friend,  of  fully  telling  thee  all  I  would  like  this 
evening,  and  think  I  will  use  this  means,  hoping 
that  I  shall  not  darken  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge. 

In  reverent  humility,  and  with  a  deep  con- 


Mt  33.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  07 

sciousness  of  entire  unworthiness  of  the  least  of 
the  Lord's  mercies,  I  may  acknowledge  that  this 
has  been  a  day  to  me  of  peculiar  enjoyment,  a  feast 
of  fat  things,  an  experience  of  joy  in  believing, 
with  which  I  am  not  often  privileged,  not  being 
worthy  to  be  trusted  with  such  treasures.  Yet 
with  all  this,  there  is  a  deep  feeling  of  self-abased- 
ness  and  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  pressing  for- 
ward, and  of  the  baptisms  which  are  needed  for 
purification  and  refinement.  But  "under  this 
abounding  feeling  of  the  mercy  and  goodness  of 
our  heavenly  Father,  how  dare  I  doubt  that  He 
who  has,  I  humbly  trust,  begun  a  good  work  in  us, 
is  able  to  carry  it  on  to  His  own  praise  ?  Dear 
friend,  we  must  not  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  we  have  committed 
unto  Him — let  us  not  therefore  do  injustice  to 
His  love  or  His  power  by  our  distrust.  I  have 
a  very  strong  tendency  to  discouragement  natu- 
rally, and  for  the  most  part  can  scarcely  keep 
my  head  above  the  billows — but  I  have  lately 
had  such  a  view  of  the  efficacy  and  the  necessity 
of  faith,  that  I  have  not  dared  to  let  go  my  hold 

— may  I  not  hope  that  this  was  given  in  some 
9 


OS 


MEMOIR  pF 


[JEt.  33. 


measure  for  thy  encouragement  also?  I  can  not 
express  to  thee  the  power  with  which  it  was 
sealed  upon  my  own  mind. 

I  know  the  state  of  things  is  very  sorrowful 
among  us — the  suffering  I  endure  at  times  is 
little  short  of  agony  on  that  account — but  let  us 
have  "  long  patience ;'?  surely,  I  often  think,  if  I 
am  borne  with,  there  is  no  cause  for  discourage- 
ment on  account  of  any.  But,  my  dear  friend, 
let  us,  in  this  also,  cast  our  care  upon  the  Lord, 
patiently  bearing  whatever  portion  of  sufferings 
lie  sees  meet  to  call  us  to  fill  up  for  His  body's 
sake,  which  is  the  Church,  but  not  giving  way 
to  unprofitable  discouragements.  Our  own  faith- 
fulness is  all  with  which  we  have  to  do,  and  it 
may  be  that  He  may  condescend  to  bless  that  to 
the  advantage  of  others,  though  I  feel  it  an  at- 
tainment almost  beyond  my  reach,  if  I  may  be 
kept  from  doing  them  harm.  I  hope  in  what  I 
have  said  I  have  not  been  presumptuous  in  arro- 
gating any  thing  to  myself,  for  truly  I  abhor 
myself,  and  have  nothing  to  glory  in  but  my 
many  and  abounding  infirmities.  But  I  have 
had  such  a  view  to-day  of  the  preciousness  and 


JEt  33.]        ELIZABETH    T .  KING. 


9.9 


all-sufficiency  of  the  Saviour,  that  I  have  been 
glad  to  be  nothing,  and  feel  that  both  for  myself 
and  others  I  can  "praise  Him  for  all  that  is  past, 
and  trust  Him  for  all  that  is  to  come." 

After  a  visit  from  Josiak  Forster,  John 
Candler,  and  Wm.  Holmes,  on  their  return 
from  Tennessee,  where  the  remains  of  their 
beloved  partner  in  the  work  and  service 
of  the  Lord,  Wm.  Forster,  had  been  laid, 
she  thus  writes  to  a  dear  friend : — 

Baltimore,  3  mo.,  1st,  1854. 
Thou  may  imagine  it  was  a  treat  to  us  to  have 
the  English  Friends  with  us.  Sorrowfully  as  all 
were  bowed  down  under  the  feeling  of  the  great 
loss  they  and  the  Church  have  sustained,  still  the 
abounding  consolation  was  also  present,  first,  that 
it  was  His  will  who  cloeth  all  things  well,  and 
then,  that  the  beloved  companion  and  venerated 
father  in  Israel,  is  at  rest,  where  he  will  "  ever  be 
with  the  Lord."  To  me  there  is  such  triumphant 
joy,  when  such  are  called  home,  that  the  sound 
of  weeping  seems  lost  in  the  burst  of  angelic 
welcome. 


100 


M  EMOI  It    O  F 


[JEt.  33. 


Now  may  He  who  called  and  qualified  this 
faithful  laborer,  grant  that  more  such  may  be 
sent  forth  into  His  harvest,  that  even  a  double 
portion  of  the  spirit  of  Elijah  may  rest  upon 
Elisha,  for  truly  our  hearts  almost  sink  within 
us  at  a  view  of  the  evils  which  appear  to  rage 
almost  unchecked  in  the  world. 

The  prospect  of  a  European  war,  and  the 
movement  towards  the  extension  of  slavery  in 
this  country,  weigh  down  my  spirit  with  such 
sorrow,  that  I  sometimes  feel  as  if  I  could  scarcely 
endure  it. 

I  am  afraid  I  suffer  more  than  is  consistent 
with  perfect  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  Him  who 
sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  who  can 
so  control  it  as  to  make  the  wrath  of  man  praise 
Him.  But  when  I  think  of  the  misery,  the  de- 
vastation, the  sin,  the  souls  that  will  be  hurried 
unprepared  into  eternity,  the  evil  passions  that 
will  be  fostered  and  strengthened,  how  can  I  feel 
any  thing  but  the  deepest  sorrow  ? 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  in  company 
with  H.  B.,  C.  R,  M.  C.  and  her  husband, 


^t.33.]       ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  101 


husband,  she  visited  some  distant  meetings 
in  the  mountainous  district  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  fulfilment  of  an  appointment  by 
the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  was  absent  about 
two  weeks.  This  service  was  performed 
to  the  satisfaction  of  her  friends  and  to  her 
own  peace. 

She  thus  alludes  to  it : 

*  *  *  I  had  some  service  with  the  young 
in  meeting,  and  also  in  private  afterwards,  and  do 
not  feel  condemnation  either  for  giving  or  with- 
holding, though  I  am  humblingly  conscious  that 
imperfection  clings  to  us,  or  rather  to  me,  always. 

On  reaching  home,  found  all  well,  according 
to  the  promise  which,  I  reverently  believe,  was 
given  me  the  morn  I  left,  and  which  supported 
me  through  the  great  fatigue  and  apparent  dan- 
ger of  our  rough  journey  :  "  There  shall  no  evil 
befall  thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling." 

Oh,  how  tenderly  condescending  is  our  gracious 

Master  to  us  in  our  infirmities,  for  not  only  was 

the  promise  given,  but  faith  given  to  trust  in  it. 
9* 


102 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JFA.  33. 


One  small  meeting,  situated  in  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains,  was  considered  too  dis- 
tant and  too  inaccessible  for  the  committee 
to  reach  at  that  season  of  the  year.  All 
the  others  had  been  visited,  and  after  her 
return  home,  feeling  a  deep  interest  in  that 
little  company,  she  felt  constrained  to  send 
them  the  following  letter.  It  was  read  in 
their  meeting  and  afterwards  in  their  sepa- 
rate families,  and  was  very  acceptable  to 
them. 

TO  FRIENDS  AT  CLEARFIELD. 

Dear  Friends, 

Although  a  stranger  to  you  personally,  I  have 
been  brought,  I  trust,  under  a  measure  of  that 
Christian  feeling  which  leads  into  deep  and  affec- 
tionate interest  for  the  welfare  of  all,  and  more 
particularly  those  who  are  seeking  to  serve  the 
Lord,  tenderly  to  sympathize  with  you.  in  being 
deprived  of  the  privileges  which  those  enjoy  who 
are  members  of  larger  meetings.  Still,  beloved 
friends,  I  have  felt  comfort  for  you  and  for  us  in 


ML  33.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  103 

rememberiug  the  words  of  tbe  apostle:  "Ye 
need  not  that  any  man  teach  you,  for  tbe  same 
anointing  teacheth  you  all  things,  and  is  truth 
and  no  lie  ;  and  even  as  it  bath  taught  you,  ye 
shall  abide  in  Him." 

The  declaration  of  tbe  prophet,  also,  "  All  thy 
children  shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord,"  is  a  great 
consolation  to  those  who  are  often  deprived  of 
outward  ministration  ;  for  what  can  be  more, 
beloved  friends,  than  His  teachings  ?  Tbe  most 
favored  instruments  can  only  communicate  what 
He  gives  them,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe 
that  He,  whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His 
works,  will  withhold  His  immediate  teachings 
from  those  who,  in  humility  and  sincerity,  are 
desiring  to  serve  Him. 

I  have,  therefore,  beloved  friends,  in  the 
tenderest  Christian  love,  craved  for  you,  as  well 
as  for  ourselves,  that  we  may  be  very  careful 
to  mind  these  teachings,  to  keep  very '  close 
to  Him  who  will  guide  us  into  all  (ruth,  who 
will  show  us  what  we  must  do  and  what  wc 
must  leave  undone,  with  unmistakable  clearness, 
if  we  are  only  obedient  to  tbe  light  which  He 


104  MEMOIR    OF  [Ml  33. 

gives  us ;  for  disobedience  always  brings  dark- 
ness and  bewilderment. 

Our  Yearly  meeting  just  closed  has  been  a 
favored  season,  and  we  are  encouraged  to  believe 
that  our  heavenly  Father  is  watching  over  us  for  , 
good.  Concern  has  been  expressed  that  we  should 
be  very  careful  in  training  our  beloved  children 
to  feel  that  the  "  one  thing  needful"  is  of  the  first 
importance  ;  that  we  should  be  diligent  ourselves 
in  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  encourag- 
ing them  in  the  practice  of  it;  and  retiring  daily 
to  wait  upon  the  Lord  for  strength  to  perform 
our  various  duties  ;  and  that  we  should  be  par- 
ticularly careful,  as  far  as  possible,  to  educate 
them  in  a  guarded  manner,  so  that  they  will  not 
be  exposed  to  the  temptations  of  mixed  schools. 
The  importance  of  being  diligent  in  the  attend- 
ance of  our  religious  meetings  was  also  dwelt 
upon,  believing  that  we  should  find  strength  and 
comfort  herein,  even  when  the  duty  was  per- 
formed under  difficulty  and  discouragement. 

I  can  not  express,  dear  friends,  how  very  near 
you  have  been  brought  to  my  best  feelings,  and 
how  earnestly  I  have  craved  that  He  who,  in 


JEt.  33.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  105 


His  marvellous  and  unbounded  love,  "  spared 
not  His  own  Son,  but  freely  delivered  Him  op 
for  us  all,"  may,  in  His  mercy,  "  with  Him  also 
freely  give  you  all  things,"  grant  you  strength  to 
walk  acceptably  before  Him,  that  your  light  may 
so  shine  before  men,  "  that  others,  seeing  your 
good  works,  may  be  led  to  glorify  Him  ;"•  and, 
finally,  having  faithfully  served  Him  in  your 
generation,  grant  that  "  an  entrance  may  be  min- 
istered unto  you  abundantly  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

In  tender  Christian  love  and  sympathy,  I  am 
truly  your  friend. 

From  her  journal : — 

5  mo.,  8ih.  I  have  been  shown  how,  in  my 
very  efforts  to  do  right,  self  tried  to  gain  the 
ascendancy;  and  did  in  some  measure  succeed, 
and  that  when  ability  was  given  me,  instead  of 
ascribing  it  all  to  the  Giver,  I  did,  in  degree, 
adorn  myself  with  the  Lord's  jewels.  This  was 
in  social  intercourse.  I  have  been  brought  under 
condemnation  for  it,  and  desire  to  be  kept  little 
and  low. 


106 


ME MO IK  OF 


[ML  33. 


While  on  a  visit  from  home,  she  thus 
writes  to  her  husband : 

— — ,  6  mo.  1854. 

I  had  scarcely  taken  my  seat  in  meeting  this 
morning,  before  an  exercise  seemed  to  come 
upon  me,  mainly  on  behalf  of  the  wanderers  who 
were  seeking  rest  and  finding  none,  and  as  soon 
as  the  meeting  was  quiet,  I  ventured  to  suppli- 
cate for  them,  as  well  as  for  those  who  were 
striving  to  serve  the  Lord,  that  their  feet  might 
be  kept  from  falling. 

I  never  felt  the  fear  of  man  so  taken  away,  as 
if  love  to  their  souls  cast  it  out  entirely  ;  and  it 
was  not  so  much  in  the  cross  to  appear,  as  in  the 
constraining  power  of  the  Spirit:  "  I  was  weary 
with  forbearing,  and  I  could  not  stay."  After- 
ward, ■  spoke  at  some  length  from  the  text, 

"  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor,"  etc.,  and  

followed,  turning  the  attention  of  these  to  the 
Light  within,  so  that  there  seemed  to  be  a  re- 
markable unanimity  of  exercise. 

*  *  *  I  have  had  great  cause  for  thank- 
fulness since  being  here;  every  thing  seems  to 
have  been  ordered  right.    More  than  all,  I  feel 


JEl  34.]        ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  107 

quiet,  conscious  of  abounding  weakness,  yet  feel- 
ino-  as  if  Lie,  who  "took  our  infirmities  and  bare 
our  sicknesses,"  condescended  to  look  down  in 
pity  on  His  feeble  child. 

I  want  to  be  kept  in  humility  but  faithfulness, 
yet  I  am  sometimes  discouraged  by  thinking 
I  am  too  much  of  a  child  in  spiritual  thing?, 
even  to  know  what  I  ought  to  do.  However,  I 
trust  that  patient  waiting,  and  quiet  hoping,  will 
bring  me  out  right  at  last. 

Take  good  care  of  thyself,  and  remember  we 
concluded  to  have  for  the  motto  in  our  new 
establishment,  and  in  all  our  actions  and  plans, 
henceforth,  "  But  one  thing  is  needful." 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  1854,  she 
removed  to  a  pleasant  home,  a  few  miles 
distant  from  the  city,  where,  in  the  enjo}~- 
ment  of  the  varying  charms  of  nature,  she 
passed  the  remaining  years  of  her  life. 

It  was  her  delight  to  ramble  with  her 
children,  in  the  woods  near  the  house,  call- 
ing their  attention  to  the  beautiful  spring 
flowers,  the  little  brook  with  its  sparkling 


108  MEMOIR    OF  [^Et.  34. 

waters,  the  many-colored  leaves  of  autumn, 
and  the  mosses  of  winter.  All  these  she 
delighted  to  point  out  as  tokens  of  the 
love  and  mercy  of  our  heavenly  Father, 
who  has  not  only  provided  so  many  things 
for  our  need,  but  gives  so  many  more  for 
our  enjoyment.  The  children  were  often 
summoned  to  accompany  her  to  some 
small  houses  not  far  distant,  occupied  by 
poor  colored  families,  to  carry  soup  to  a 
sick  woman,  or  clothes  to  a  little  child, 
thus  teaching  them  the  pleasure  of  reliev- 
ing the  necessities  of  others.  On  the 
afternoon  of  First  day,  the  children  of 
these  families  were  invited  to  her  house, 
and  a  company  might  be  seen  assembled 
round  the  table,  listening  with  eager  inter- 
est to  the  wonderful  stories  of  the  Bible, 
and  learning  lessons,  which  seemed  strange 
perhaps  to  them,  of  the  love  and  mercy  of 
their  Saviour. 

Her  daughters  always  had  apart  to  per- 


m  34.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  109 

form  in  the  school,  and  it  proved  a  pleasant 
hour  to  both  teacher  and  pupils. 

She  had  the  faculty  of  improving  time  to 
a  remarkable  degree,  yet  it  was  done  so  qui- 
etly and  systematically  that  nothing  seemed 
to  be  an  effort  to  her.  She  often  quoted 
an  expression  of  a  dear  aged  father  in  the 
church,  upon  whose  sympathy  and  expe- 
rience she  loved  to  lean,  "I  never  was  in 
a  hurry."  Truly  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,, 
and  a  loving,  cheerful  heart,  were  given  to 
her,  and  all  within  her  influence  felt  its 
charm.  Having  some  leisure  this  year, 
she  devoted  a  part  of  it  to  the  study  of 
German  from  a  sense  of  religious  duty,  be- 
lieving that  it  would  be  of  service  to  her 
in  mingling  with  that  class  of  the  popula- 
tion. She  accustomed  herself  to  read  the 
German  Bible  daily  for  several  years,  and 
often  expressed  her  belief  that,  if  her  life 
were  spared,  she  would  be  led  to  labor 

among  that  people.    On  one  occasion,  in 
10 


110 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEi.  34. 


visiting  the  Almshouse  with  a  minister — 
who  had  religious  service  with  the  inmates 
— a  poor  German  met  them  at  the  close, 
and  with  much  feeling,  gave  her  to  under- 
stand that  she  did  not  comprehend  what 
had  been  said.  E.  T.  K.  felt  her  heart 
warmed  toward  the  woman ;  and,  after 
a  little  silent  waiting,  text  after  text  in 
German  was  given  her,  and  she  was  able 
to  relieve  her  own  mind  and  comfort  the 
poor  woman.  She  said  afterwards  that 
this  alone  richly  repaid  her  for  the  trouble 
of  acquiring  the  language. 

Remembering  the  injunction,  "  Occupy 
till  I  come,"  she  was  careful  to  embrace 
openings  for  usefulness,  however  small  they 
might  seem.  Watchful  over  her  own  spirit, 
and  constantly  depending  on  the  Strong 
for  strength,  few  were  more  fully  qualified 
to  comfort  others  with  the  comfort  where- 
with she  herself  had  been  comforted  of 
God.    Yet  these  acts  were  so  quietly  and 


JEt.  34.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  Ill 

unostentatiously  performed,  as  often  to  be 
known  only  to  the  recipient.  A  note  sent 
to  one  under  an  impression  of  duty,  or  a 
few  words  of  counsel  to  another  under 
temptation,  not  unfrequently  made  an  im- 
pression which  will  long  remain. 

While  thus  careful,  as  she  says  to  a  friend, 

"  to  remember  the  injunction  dear   

gave  us,  not  to  live  too  much  to  ourselves," 
she  was  very  attentive  to  her  domestic 
duties,  and  it  was  in  the  privacy  of  home 
that  the  beauty  of  her  character  was  espe- 
cially manifested. 

The  education  and  training  of  her  chil- 
dren was,  to  her,  a  subject  of  great  im- 
portance, which  she  was  unwilling  to 
delegate  to  others.  Their  lessons  were 
daily  attended  to,  and  while  cultivating 
their  minds,  she  was  careful  to  embrace 
every  opportunity  for  inculcating  religious 
truths.  Any  manifestation  of  wrong  feel- 
ing was  gently  and  tenderly  rebuked,  as 


112 


M  EMOI  11    O  F 


a  source  of  uiihappiness  to  them  as  well  as 
to  kcrself,  but  more  than  all  as  a  sin  against 
their  heavenly  Father,  to  whom  they  were 
taught  to  look  as  their  Protector,  cognizant 
of  every  action. 

With  a  view  of  instructing,  as  well  as 
interesting  them,  she  wrote  some  little 
tracts,  drawn  from  incidents  in  their  daily 
lives,  which  were  intended  to  enforce  the 
lessons  she  desired  to  teach.  They  were 
originally  prepared  only  for  her  own  chil- 
dren, but  were  afterward  published. 

She  had  also  commenced  a  Child's  His- 
tory, in  which  she  intended  to  present  the 
history  of  various  nations  in  a  more  moral 
point  of  view  than  is  generally  taken  in 
such  books. 

Her  aspirations  after  faithful  and  entire 
dedication  will  be  shown  by  the  following 
lines,  written  by  her  about  this  time : 

I  ask  the  rest  that  spirit  knows, 

Whose  will  is  wholly  bowed  to  Thine ; 


JEt  34]        ELIZABETH    T .  KING. 


That  quiet  and  serene  repose 
That  can  its  every  wish  resign. 

I  want  to  labor  faithfully 

Within  Thy  vineyard  ail  my  day, 

But  guided  only  by  Thine  eye, 

Nor  dare  to  choose  my  work  or  way. 

And  yet  whenever,  in  Thy  love, 

Thou  givest  the  command,  "  Be  still," 

May  I  as  joyfully  prepare 
To  suffer,  as  to  do  Thy  will. 

I  ask  not  comfort,  joy,  or  peace, 

For  self  in  these,  oft  makes  her  throne  ; 

I  only  ask,  Thou  wilt  not  cease 
Until  Thy  work  be  wholly  done. 

I  can  not  rest  until  my  heart 

Is  purged  from  every  taint  of  sin, 

And,  through  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  made 
Fit  for  Thyself  to  enter  in. 

And  well  I  know  Thy  changeless  love 
Will  all  Thy  loving  children  cheer, 

"Whenever,  on  their  thorny  way, 

Their  spirits  droop  from  doubt  or  fear. 

AH  this  I  trust  to  Thee  alone, 
But  leave  me  not,  until  there  be 

On  every  action,  word,  and  tone, 
The  impress,  Holiness  to  Thee. 


Extracts  from  a  letter  to  an  aunt : — 
10* 


114 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  34 


Baltimore,  8  mo.,  1854. 
*  *  *  I  have  felt  that  the  first  inquiry 
every  morning  should  be,  "  Lord,  what  wilt 
Thou  have  me  to  do?"  and  to  that,  the  first  at- 
tention, and  prime  of  my  strength,  should  be 
given,  letting  other  things  have  their  subordinate 
place,  trusting  that  ability  will  be  given  for  what 
is  needful. 

Sometimes  there  seems  to  bo  an  accumulation 
of  necessary  duties,  but  I  believe  it  is  the  enemy 
who  piles  them  up,  and  that  the  single  eye  would 
not  see  so  many. 

A  few  days  since,  the  questions  seemed  to 
come  to  me  with  much  force  and  solemnity — 
What  are  we  doing  with  our  time,  our  talents, 
and  our  money  ?  Is  every  thing  done  to  the 
glory  of  God,  or  to  minister  to  our  own  pride 
and  love  of  ease? 

If  not  to  His  glory,  what  excuse  have  we  ? 
Not  of  ignorance,  surely,  the  written  law  without, 
and  the  Witness  within,  have  taught  us  plainly. 

ISTot  of  want  of  ability,  for  that  is  promised, 
and  will  be  given  to  all  who  seek  it. 

We  say  we  will  throw  ourselves  upon  the 


^Et.34.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  115 


Mercy  of  God,  but  arc  wc  not  abusing  that 
mercy  by  continuing  in  those  things  against 
which  His  Spirit  has  a  controversy  ? 

I  can  not  tell  thee  how  these  questions  have 
impressed  me. 

To  one  of  her  sisters  : — 

Baltimore,  9  mo.,  1854. 

If  we  are  only  favored  to  keep  in  the  right 
way  and  the  right  spirit,  nothing  will  befall  us 
which  will  not  conduce  to  our  advancement;  and 
this  comfort  always  remains,  that  the  foundation 
standeth  sure. 

It  has  seemed  to  me,  that  many  difficulties 
arise,  in  the  first  place,  from  leaving  the  indi- 
vidual work,  and  if  rightly  improved  they  will 
drive  us  back  to  it;  while  nothing  will  be  per- 
mitted to  harm  us  if  we  are  "  followers  of  that 
which  is  c;ood." 

There  is  a  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people 
of  God,  which  nothing  shall  disturb — the  way 
may  be  long  and  weary,  but  sooner  or  later  the 
end  will  be  attained. 

We  may  disquiet  ourselves  too  much  about 


116 


MEMOin  OF 


[Mt.  34. 


events  we  can  not  control,  and  the  faults  of 
others  which  we  can  not  mend.  Having  done 
our  duty,  in  humility  and  sincerity,  there  are 
many  things  which  we  must  leave  to  Him  who 
holdeth  in  His  hand  the  hearts  of  the  children 
of  men,  and  can  turn  them  as  He  will. 

10  mo.,  1854. 

My  mind  has  been  very  much  impressed  with 
the  duties  we  owe  our  servants,  in  watching  for 
their  souls  as  they  that  must  give  an  account. 
They  are  placed,  by  the  providence  of  God,  un- 
der our  care,  that  we  may  do  them  good,  though 
this  is  not  always  so  much  by  direct  instruction, 
as  by  the  influence  of  our  daily  lives  and  conver- 
sation, and  our  prayers  on  their  behalf. 

11  mo.,  28th,  1854. 

I  have  been  very  much  impressed  with  the 
injunction  to  show  piety  at  home.  It  is  poor 
religion — is  it  not? — which  can  not  bear  little 
trials,  and  keep  in  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit  under 
petty  provocations  and  discouragements !  And 
yet  how  many  fail !    How  I  do  ! 

12  mo.,  1854. 

I  quite  agree  with  thee  in  thinking  that  some 


Ml  34]      ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  117 

of  these  outside  things  must  be  cut  off.  Let 
those  take  them  whose  place  it  is,  let  every  stone 
have  its  right  place  in  the  temple,  but  let  us  wait 
patiently  and  humbly  for  the  great  Master-builder 
to  put  us  in  the  one  we  are  to  occupjr.  No  mat- 
ter if  He  seems  to  leave  us  comparatively  useless 
for  a  long  time,  perhaps  we  want  long  chipping, 
and  squaring,  and  polishing,  before  we  are  fit  to 
be  placed  at  all. 

Baltimore,  1  mo.,  1855. 
I  have  suffered  much  from  letting  myself  out 
into  reading  [naming  some  writings  with  which, 
in  early  life,  she  was  much  engrossed]  which 
tends  to  rouse  up  the  old  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
who  promised  to  be  servants  and  now  want  to 
take  the.  mastery  again.  My  dear,  thou  dost  not 
know  how  hard  it  is  for  me  to  lay  down  this 
crown ;  it  is  truly  like  parting  with  a  right  eye. 
Is  it  not  sorrowful  that  it  should  be  so  hard  to 
give  up  after  long  struggles,  and  when  I  really 
thought  they  were  dead  which  sought  the  young 
child's  life?  Do  let  us  try  to  be  faithful  and 
watchful,  and  beg  earnestly  for  the  precious 
fruits  and  gifts  of  the  Spirit.    We  do  have  such 


118 


MEMOIR  OF 


[ML  34. 


answers  to  prayer  when  we  are  truly  concerned, 
that  we  ought  to  be  encouraged.  I  do  not  think 
that  I  have  ever  asked  that  it  has  not  been 
given,  both  spiritual  and  temporal  blessing,  but 
it  is  needful  to  get  very  low,  to  dwell  in  the  spirit 
of  true  prayer." 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  she  was 
opposed  to  mental  cultivation,  or  consid- 
ered the  talents  bestowed  by  our  heavenly 
Father  were  not  all  to  be  improved.  This 
was  by  no  means  the  case,  but  it  was  her 
desire  that  every  thing  should  be  kept  in 
its  place,  entirely  subservient  to  the  one 
thing  needful. 

In  a  letter  written  in  the  early  part  of 
her  religious  experience,  she  thus  makes 
the  distinction : 

-  I  like  thy  distinction  between  mental  improve- 
ment and  mental  excitement  It  is  the  latter  which 
is  so  fascinating,  that  I  am  growing  afraid  to 
trust  myself  in  any  degree  to  my  former  habits 
and  pursuits.   M.  J.  Graham  says  in  her  memoirs, 


JEt  34.]       ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  119 

"Study  has  been,  to  me,  like  the  stuff  of  Achan, 
beneath  which  was  concealed  the  accursed  thing." 
It  seems  to  me  rather  more  of  a  snare  than  an 
assistance,  to  any  who  would  be  likely  to  pursue 
it  "  for  its  own  sake,"  as  some  say  it  ought  to  be, 
just  as  if  we  had  any  right  to  pursue  any  earthly 
enjoyment  "  for  its  own  sake." 

1  mo.,  1855. 

It  seems  to  me  that  we  are  called  to  great 
watchfulness  in  our  conduct  toward  all,  avoid- 
ing even  the  appearance  of  evil,  and  careful  not 
to  crush  the  least  scruple  in  the  little  ones  of  the 
flock. 

"We  ought  also  to  take  heed  that  our  speech 
be  always  "  with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt,"  that 
it  may  minister  grace  to  the  hearers.  To  redeem 
the  time,  not  only  from  our  pleasures,  but  also 
from  our  lawful  and  necessary  cares,  which  too 
often  absorb  so  much  of  our  time  and  attention 
as  not  to  leave  us  ability  for  the  service  which 
our  blessed  Master  would  call  us  into.  Thus, 
though  the  days  are  evil,  if  we  dwell  so  near  our 
dear  Saviour,  we  shall  be  favored  to  make  our 


120 


MEMOIR  OF 


|>Et  34. 


refuge  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,  till 
these  calamities  are  overpast. 

2  mo.,  19tb,  1855. 

But  we  need  not  be  discouraged  : 

"  He  who  hath  helped  us  hitherto 
Will  help  us  all  our  journey  through  ;" 

and  this  lesson  of  suffering,  of  nothingness,  of 
poverty,  and  desertion,  is  no  doubt  our  most 
profitable  discipline. 

Is  it  not  a  comfort  to  take  every  cup  directly 
from  the  hands  of  our  tender  Father,  appealing 
to  Him — "Thou kno west  all  things,  Thou  know- 
est  that  I  love  Thee  ?" 

I  was  shown  yesterday  that  the  word  to  those 
who  were  perhaps  too  anxiously  inquiring — 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?" — was 
11  Kest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him," 
and  that  in  quietness  and  confidence  should  be 
their  strength.  That,  however  desirous  they  may 
be  to  journey  forward,  they  must  wait  until  the 
cloud  is  lifted  from  the  tabernacle,  and  the  word 
is  given,  and  "  Though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it,  be- 
cause it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  tarry." 


Ml  34.]        ELIZABETH    T .    K  I  X  G  .  121 

To  a  dear  friend  : — 

Baltimore,  3  mo.,  3d,  1855. 

I  have  been  thinking  much  of  thee  of  late, 
and  I  have  a  mind  to  beguile  the  tediousness  of 
a  heavy  cold  by  writing  a  few  lines.  It  is  an 
advantage  to  be  sick  a  little  now  and  then  ;  it  is 
a  good  time  for  '  taking  an  observation,'  as  the 
sailors  say,  and  finding  out  where  we  are ;  for 
sometimes  those  who  are  naturally  inclined  to 
crowd  all  sail  and  make  as  much  headway  as  pos- 
sible, find,  when  they  are  brought  up  in  this  way, 
that  they  are  considerably  out  of  their  true  course. 

I  don't  mean  to  write  bitter  things  against 
myself,  but  I  have  been  sorrowfully  convinced 
that  in  what  I  thought  necessary  attention  to 
home  duties,  my  time  and  strength  have  been 
engrossed  to  a  degree  that  I  fear  has  interfered 
with  my  duty  to  others. 

It  is  a  serious  consideration  how  much  good 
we  miss  of  doing  by  our  want  of  watchfulness 
for  opportunities,  and  our  engrossment  even  in 
our  lawful  and  necessary  cares  ;  and  there  is  an- 
other way,  too,  in  the  influence  we  might  con- 
tinually exert  over  all  who  come  in  contact  with 
11 


122 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEL  34. 


us,  and  through  them  over  others,  to  an  extent 
of  which  we  are  probably  not  aware,  if  we  con- 
tinually kept  in  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit — if  we 
continually  showed  that  our  conversation  was  in 
heaven.  Ah,  it  may  be  with  some  of  us  that  it 
is  more  for  what  we  leave  undone  than  for  what 
we  do,  that  we  shall  be  called  to  an  account. 
There  is  such  a  tendency  to  cling  to  the  present, 
that  it  is  very  hard  to  remember  constantly  and 
practically  that  we  are  but  strangers  and  pilgrims 
— that  '  but  one  thing  is  needful?  unless  sometimes 
eternity  is  brought,  as  it  were,  face  to  face  with 
us,  as  it  has  been  within  a  few  days  past  by  the 
death  of  my  beloved  friend,  P.  C.  T. 

I  wish  thou  could  see  us  in  our  pleasant  home 
in  the  country.  My  health  has  been  very  good 
this  winter.  I  do  not  think  it  has  ever  been  bet- 
ter. I  have  gained  flesh  and  strength  surpris- 
ingly. The  children  have  also  been  very  well, 
and  our  darling  little  baby  has  been  a  perfect 
sunbeam  to  the  household.  She  is  now  about 
five  months  old,  so  lovely,  healthy ,  and  happj*, 
that  I  have  had  the  most  thorough  and  unalloyed 
enjoyment  with  her. 


ML  34.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  123 

I  often  sorrowfully  feel  the  need  of  improve- 
ment in  every  way,  and  while  desiring  it  for 
myself,  may  I  say,  dear,  that  I  have  also  been 
led  to  crave  for  thee  that  there  may  be  a  grovjth 
in  grace,  that  we  may  be  not  almost,  but  alto- 
gether what  our  good  Master  would  have  us  to 
be — thoroughly  redeemed  from  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  constant,  watchful,  humble  seekers  to 
know  His  will,  and  unflinching  in  our  determi- 
nation to  do  it  in  spite  of  the  pleadings  which 
our  love  of  self,  our  love  of  ease,  and  our  love 
of  the  world  may  urge  against  this  thorough 
dedication  of  heart  and  soul  to  His  service. 

From  her  journal : — 

2  mo.,  24th. 

Ah !  how  carefully  we  have  to  keep  our  gar- 
ments about  us — our  loins  girded  to  keep  them 
unspotted.  To-day  I  endeavored  to  relieve  my 
mind  of  a  burden  which  has  for  some  time  been 
upon  it — petitioning  for  some  who  were  with- 
holding, and  for  all,  that  we  might  be  kept  daily 
and  hourly  in  such  reverent  fear,  that  neither 
walking  in  our  own  ways,  nor  seeking  our  own 
pleasures,  nor  speaking  our  own  words,  we  might 


124 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mt  34. 


walk  in  a  perfect  way  acceptably  before  the  Lord, 
and  be  presented  unblamable  in  holiness  in  His 
sight.  After  I  took  my  seat  I  had  a  most  over- 
whelming view  of  this  state — the  words  comins: 
to  my  mind,  '  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in 
him  jjurifietb.  himself  even  as  He  is  pure  ;"  re- 
membering that  all  things  must  become  new,  and 
all  things  of  God  ;  connecting  this  with  the  om- 
nipotence of  our  Divine  Helper,  the  promises  to 
supply  all  our  need,  the  declaration,  1  Behold,  I 
am  the  Lord,  the  God  of  the  whole  earth,  is  any 
thing  too  hard  for  me  ?'  the  efficacy  of  the  prayer 
of  faith,  so  that  there  is  no  escape  from  the  con- 
clusion that,  so  far  as  we  fail,  the  fault  is  our  own. 

26th.  One  of  our  servants  is  going  to  leave 
us  to-day — a  poor,  ignorant  fellow,  who  has  tried 
my  patience  greatly  ;  but  I  am  much  cast  down 
under  the  conviction  that  I  have  not  done  my 
duty  altogether  to  him.  I  have  npt  taught,  en- 
couraged, kindly  and  faithfully  reproved  him. 
Be  pleased  to  forgive  me,  O  merciful  Father ! 
and  let  not  my  brother's  blood  cry  against  me. 
Now  another  man  is  coming.  Oh,  Father,  I  do 
humbly  and  earnestly  beseech  thee  to  help  me 
perform  my  duty  to  him. 


Mi.  34.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  125 

To  a  sister : 

Baltimore,  3  mo.,  20th,  1855. 

"We  must  find  out  our  own  work.  The  only 
safe  way  for  me,  I  find,  is  to  wait  day  by  day,  to 
have  my  work  given  me,  and  not  be  looking  out 
too  much,  or  even  too  anxiously,  for  something 
to  do.  It  is  surprising  how,  in  this  waiting  state, 
the  way  opens  sometimes,  and  how  it  is  closed 
up  at  others ;  but  if  I  try  to  move  in  the  dark  I 
mostly  stumble,  so  then  I  have  to  keep  quiet. 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  why,  with  the  inclin- 
ation and  the  apparent  ability  to  do,  we  should 
ever  be  commanded  to  keep  quiet,  when  there  is 
so  much  to  be  done ;  but  our  ignorance  is  the 
first  lesson  to  be  learned,  and,  alas!  has  to  be 
often  repeated.  Prayer,  however,  is  our  great 
weapon  ;  we  truly  never  ask  aright  for  any  thing 
which  is  not  granted. 

Do  not  the  repeated  tidings  of  sickness  and 
death  among  our  friends,  which  have  reached 
us  lately,  make  thee  feel  very  solemnly  the  un- 
certainty of  every  thing,  the  unreality  of  this 
life  ?    As  we  grow  older,  one  after  another  must 

drop  away,  until  we  go  too.    How  strange  it  is 
11* 


126 


MEMOIR  OF 


[ML  34. 


that  we  will  persist  in  being  so  solicitous  about 
the  accommodations  and  enjoyments  on  this 
short  journey  I 

From  her  journal : — 

5  mo.,  15th,  1855.  I  want  to  crave  a  blessing 
on  my  study  of  the  Bible,  that  my  eyes  may  be 
opened  that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out 
of  the  law  of  God,  for  I  am  deeply  sensible  that 
unless  I  am  shown  the  true  meaning  by  the 
Spirit  which  gave  it  forth,  I  can  not  perceive  it. 

8  mo.,  30th.  Our  longing  for  holiness  is  some- 
times a  selfish,  indolent  weariness  of  the  conflict. 
If  our  wills  were  entirely  subdued,  we  should  be 
satisfied  to  remain  in  the  furnace  as  long  as  our 
good  Master  sees  fit,  and  endure  the  fight  of 
temptations,  which  sometimes  seems  so  terrible. 
Ah,  we  want  faith,  faith  that  our  tender  and 
omnipotent  Father  is  able  and  willing  at  all 
times  to  help  us. 

To  her  husband  : — 

New  York,  9  mo.,  1855. 
I  had  a  very  delightful  visit  at  Burlington. 
On  First  day  we  attended  meeting,  and  afterward 


JEt  35.]        ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


127 


went  to  see  Stephen  Grellet,  who  was  just  able 
to  come  down  stairs.  He  is  extremely  feeble, 
can  not  speak  above  a  whisper,  but  in  a  most 
heavenly  state  of  mind.  I  asked  him  how  he 
felt.  "  Very  feeble,1'  he  said,  ,u  but  my  good  "Master 
takes  care  of  me ;  I  can  trust  Him  ;  He  doeth 
all  things  well.''  After  a  while,  we  fell  into 
silence,  and,  although  his  voice  was  so  very 
weak,  he  addressed  us  at  some  length,  encourag- 
ing us  to  trust  in  the  good  Shepherd,  who  not 
only  took  care  of  the  sheep,  but  the  lambs — who 
taketh  them  in  His  arms,  and  carrieth  in  His 
bosom,  and  gently  leads  those  who  are  under 
burdens  and  exercises,  and  when  they  have  been 
wounded  in  their  wanderings  over  the  barren 
mountains  and  desolate  places,  He  makes  them 
to  lie  down  by  the  still  waters,  and  in  the  green 
pastures,  and  restores  their  souls.  This  testimony 
to  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  our  compassionate 
Lord,  from  the  aged  saint  who  had  had  so  long 
experience  of  them,  was  very  impressive.  Al- 
together it  was  a  visit  which  I  think  I  shall 
never  forget,  and  which  I  shall  probably  never 
repeat,  he  seemed  so  very  feeble.    I  was  received 


128 


MEMOIR  OF 


[>Et.  35. 


everywhere  with,  the  greatest  kindness,  which  al- 
ways surprises  me,  but  it  shows  how  Christian 
love  and  charity  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

To  one  of  her  sisters  :  — 

Baltimore,  9  mo.,  1855. 
I  don't  know  what  is  to  become  of  us  as  a 
Society  ;  it  seems  as  if  every  thing  which  can  be 
shaken  is  to  be  removed;  but  it  is  an  abiding 
comfort  that  all  this — though  it  may,  and  indeed 
must,  cause  suffering — need  not  hinder  the  indi- 
vidual work ;  that  the  little  ones,  and  the  weak 
ones  are  just  as  much  cared  for  as  ever  by  the 
great  Shepherd,  who  still  gathers  the  lambs  in 
His  arms,  and  carries  them  in  His  bosom.  The 
power  of  the  Almighty  Father  is  still  over  all, 
and  under  the  shadow  of  His  wings  we  may 
make  our  refuge  until  these  calamities  be  over- 
past ;  and  the  great  comfort  is,  that  it  is  because 
of  our  weakness  and  poverty,  our  utter  helpless- 
ness, that  we  may  come ;  not  for  our  righteous- 
ness, but  for  His  great  mercies,  that  we  have  the 
claim. 


JEt.  35.]       ELIZABETH    T.  KING. 


129 


Baltimore,  11  mo.,  20th,  1855. 
I  feel  quite  well  now,  only  it  seems  to  me  I 
am  experiencing  something  of  what  a  friend 
says,  "  That  the  vessels,  after  having  been  used, 
require  purifying,"  which  is  not  an  operation 
pleasing  to  the  love  of  ease  and  comfort  natural 
to  us. 

I  am  feeling  very  seriously  this  morning  that 
while  we  have  seen  the  disadvantage  of  formality 
and  narrowness  of  spirit,  which  refuses  to  be 
introduced  into  that  liberty  which  is  the  privilege 
of  the  reconciled  children  of  our  tender  Father ; 
it  is  very  needful  to  keep  watch  that  the  enemy 
does  not  lead  us  quite  as  far  from  the  right  path, 
though  in  a  contrary  direction,  into  self-indulg- 
ence, and  a  liberty  which  is  not  of  the  Truth. 
"  No  man  that  warreth,  entangleth  himself  with 
the  affairs  of  this  life,  that  he  may  please  Him 
who  hath  chosen  him  to  be  a  soldier,"  and  yet  a 
proper  attention  to  our  outward  concerns  is  ne- 
cessary, that  we  may  not  give  occasion  to  the 
adversary  to  speak  reproachfully. 

To  a  sister : — ■ 


130 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEl  35. 


Baltimore,  12  mo.,  2 2d,  1855. 

My  duties  are  very  much  contracted ;  there  is 
not  much  perplexity  about  them,  but  we  well 
know  that  our  work  is  what  our  Father  gives  us 
to  do,  not  what  we  in  our  own  wisdom  may 
think  needs  attention. 

I  have  been  led  to  consider  the  beauty  of 
love  and  the  necessity  of  it,  and  the  folly  and 
wickedness — though  it  may  be  unconsciously  so — 
of  going  about  finding  fault  with  people,  though 
we  may  cloak  it  under  the  appearance  of  a  zeal 
for  the  truth  and  an  abhorrence  of  sin.  As  if 
the  government  were  upon  our  shoulders!  I 
don't  mean  that  we  are  not  to  feel  grieved  when 
things  go  wrong — sin  must  trouble  us,  if  we 
view  it  rightly — but  our  grief  should  be  without 
bitterness  against  the  sinner. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  in  which 
He  who  had  called  and  fitted  her  for  His 
service,  was  pleased  to  say,  "It  is  enough," 
and  take  her  to  Himself.  During  this 
winter  her  health  gradually  failed,  and 
although  those  to  whom  she  was  so  dear 


,Et.  35.]        E  L  I  Z  A  B  E  T  II    T  .    K  I  X  0 .  131 


fondly  hoped  that  one  so  well  qualified  for 
usefulness  in  the  militant  church,  would 
not  be  removed,  her  own  impression  was, 
that  her  days  would  be  few. 

This  feeling,  far  from  causing  sorrow, 
seemed  only  to  increase  her  desire  to  be 
in  readiness  to  resign  her  stewardship, 
whenever  the  summons  should  come.  She 
had,  for  more  than  a  year  past,  been  a 
member  of  the  Ladies'  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Refuge,  and  was  much  interested 
in  this  object,  and  earnest  in  her  endeavors 
to  benefit  the  inmates. 

She  was  exceedingly  desirous  of  paying 
another — and,  as  it  proved,  a  final — visit 
to  this  institution,  but  her  health  seemed 
unequal  to  the  effort.  A  little  increase  of 
strength  was  however  given,  and  this  act 
of  duty  was  performed.* 

*  The  following  extract  from  the  Report  of  the  Managers  of 
that  Institution,  will  show  how  her  labors  were  appreciated: — 

"  Our  committee  can  not  close  this  report  without  adverting 
to  the  sad  bereavement  we  have  met  with  in  the  death  of  Mrs. 


J  32 


MEMOIR  OF 


[^Et.  35. 


She  had  occupied  the  position  of  Clerk 
to  Baltimore  Monthly  Meeting  of  Women 
Friends  many  years,  and  for  two  years  pre- 
vious to  this  time,  had  acceptably  served 
that  Yearly  Meeting  in  the  same  capacity. 
At  the  close  of  that  held  this  year,  she 
made  the  following  minute  : — * 

TVre  are  bound  to  acknowledge,  in  grateful 
humility,  that  our  heavenly  Father  has  been 
pleased  to  be  very  near  us,  since  we  have  been 
gathered  together,  and  our  drooping  spirits  have 
been  afresh  encouraged  to  trust  in  Him  at  all 
times. 

Whilst  we  have  cause  humbly  to  acknowledge 

Elizabeth  Taber  King.  She  was  one  of  the  first  selected  by 
your  Board,  and  in  losing  her,  the  House  of  Refuge  met  with 
no  common  loss.  But  God,  in  His  wisdom,  saw  best  to  call  her 
to  a  better  sphere.  She  was  taken  from  us,  but  we  trust  that 
the  remembrance  of  her  holy  life,  her  usefulness,  and  the  lovely 
graces  of  her  Christian  character,  will  remain  with  us  as  a  guiding 
light,  still  shedding  its  sweet  influences  around  us  on  earth, 
while  it  lifts  our  thoughts  heavenward,  to  that  happy  refuge 
•  home,  provided  by  God  for  those  who  love  Him,  where  there  is 
no  sin,  nor  sorrow,  no  more  pain,  nor  sickness,  nor  death." 

*  Among  "  Friends"  the  men  and  women  have  separate 
meetings  for  tho  administration  of  the  Discipline. 


-Et.  35.J 


ELIZABETH  T. 


KING. 


133 


that  His  Spirit  lias  been  at  work  amongst  us, 
both  immediately  and  instrumentally,  we  crave 
that  the  good  desires  which  have  been  raised  in 
our  hearts,  may  not  be  suffered  to  pass  away 
without  yielding  fruit ;  but  that  we  may  be  in- 
cited to  greater  and  continued  diligence  in  every 
good  word  or  work,  being  solemnly  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  doing  with  our  might, 
whatsoever  our  hands  find  to  do,  for  the  night 
cometh* 

During  this  winter  she  experienced  se- 
vere bodily  suffering  at  times,  and  deep 
mental  conflicts  were  also  permitted,  but 
He  whom  she  had  chosen  in  youth,  and  to 
whom  her  health  and  strength  had  been 
devoted,  did  not  forsake  her.  Remember- 

*  Before  the  time  of  the  next  Yearly  Meeting  the  hand  which 
penned  these  lines,  was  resting  in  the  grave,  and  the  gentle 
spirit  was  for  ever  at  rest. 

In  reference  to  this,  the  following  minute  was  made  by  her 
successor. 

"  The  minutes  of  the  past  year  were  read,  and  we  were  there- 
by reminded  of  the  great  loss  we  have  sustained,  in  the  removal 
of  our  dear  friend.  1  Being  dead  she  yet  speaketh  ;'  and  may  we 
heed  the  solemn  injunction,  '  Work  while  it  is  called  to-day,  for 
the  night  cometh  wherein  no  man  can  work.'  " 

12 


134 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Ml  35. 


ing  that  we  are  but  dust,  He  condescended 
to  her  weakness,  and  in  seasons  of  depres- 
sion, His  arms  bore  her  above  the  waves, 
that  they  might  not  overwhelm. 

Baltimore,  2  mo.,  6th,  1856. 

I  hope,  my  dear  — — ,  thou  wilt  not  feel  sorry, 
if  thou  art  surprised,  at  receiving  a  little  mes- 
senger from  me,  for  I  have  been  thinking  of 
thee  more  particularly  of  late,  with  much  tender 
and  affectionate  interest,  and  very  earnest  desires 
that  thou  mayest  be  strengthened  to  do  the  whole 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father,  experiencing  as  the 
result  of  it,  a  portion  of  that  peace  which  flows 
from  this  perfect  acquiescence,  and  which  is 
truly  "not  as  the  world  giveth."  I  so  often 
think  of  the  remark  of  a  Friend,  that  "  Our  Mas- 
ter gives  large  wages  for  very  poor  service." 
Where  all  is  offered  up,  it  is  so  graciously  ac- 
cepted, even  if,  in  our  poverty,  we  can  only  bring 
"a  pair  of  turtle-doves  or  two  young  pigeons." 
Do  not  think,  my  dear  friend,  that  I  speak,  feel- 
ing as  if  I  am  any  thing,  or  know  any  thing  of 
myself.    I  am  the  veriest  child — poor,  weak  and 


JEt.  35.]        ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  135 


ignorant,  inexpressibly  so — but  I  can  not  refrain 
from  bearing  testimony  to  the  power  of  that 
grace  which,  as  it  is  submitted  to,  will  cleanse, 
and  teach,  and  strengthen,  until  "  old  things  are 
done  away,  and  all  things  become  new  and  all 
things  of  God." 

I  have  been  very  feeble  since  thou  wast  here, 
and,  until  last  First  day,  have  not  been  able  to 
attend  meeting  since  we  were  there  together. 
But  I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  quiet  enjoyment, 
in  spite  of  the  physical  suffering ;  and  have 
mostly  been  enabled  to  fix  my  eyes  so  entirely 
upon  my  numberless  blessings  as  to  lose  sight  of 
every  thing  else.  "  Oh,  that  men  would  praise 
the  Lord  for  His  goodness,  and  for  His  wonderful 
works  to  the  children  of  men." 

I  have  had  more  time  for  reading  than  usual — 
in  fact,  rather  more  time  than  ability — and, 
among  many  other  things,  have  re-read  the  life 
of  Joseph  John  Gurney,  which  has  seemed  to 
me,  more  than  ever  before,  a  bright  example  of 
the  Christian  graces.  His  indefatigable  industry, 
his  entire  dedication  of  himself,  and  all  that  he 
had,  to  the  service  of  his  dear  Master — his  un- 


136 


MEMOIR  OF 


[XL  35. 


failing  charity  and  deep  humility,  mark  him  out 
as  a  most  conspicuous  ornament  to  his  profession. 
I  was  much  pleased  with  a  remark  of  his  to  a 
friend  in  affliction :  "I  do  not  like  any  of  the 
dispensations  of  our  heavenly  Father  to  be  called 
severe,'1  implying  that  they  are  all  so  tempered 
with  mercy,  that,  being  sent  in  love,  severity  is 
a  harsh  and  unjust  term  to  apply  to  them.  The 
touching  humility,  too,  with  which  he  always 
sought  to  derive  spiritual  benefit  from  the  hum- 
blest Christians,  particularly  from  their  ministry, 
is  peculiarly  worthy  of  imitation,  especially  now 
that  there  is  such  a  critical  tendency  prevalent. 

I  do  not  feel,  my  dear  friend,  that  I  can  ex- 
press as  I  wish  all  that  I  feel  with  regard  to  thee 
— but  I  do  earnestly  crave  for  us  both,  an  entire 
and  unreserved  dedication  of  our  all  to  the  will 
and  service  of  our  blessed  Master,  that  we  may 
be  favored  to  keep  very  close  to  Him,  and  follow 
Him  whithersoever  He  leadeth.  I  believe  I  have 
been  brought  into  sympathy  with  what  may 
have  been  at  times  the  struggles  and  sorrows  of 
thy  spirit,  and  much  desire  that  we  may  be 


JEt.  35.^       ELIZABETH    T.    KI1TG.  137 

favored  to  yield  that  unreserved  obedience 
which  will  alone  bring  us  peace. 

In  much  tender  affection  I  am  thy  friend. 

To  one  of  her  young  friends : — 

Baltimore,  2  mo.,  6th,  1856. 

I  suppose  I  shall  be  an  unexpected  corres- 
pondent, dear   ,  but  I  hope  not  an  unwel- 
come one,  as  I  have  been  thinking  of  thee  lately 
with  so  much  affectionate  interest  that  I  would 
like  to  give  some  expression  to  it. 

I  have  been  very  feeble  this  winter ;  and  until 
last  First  day,  have  been  able  even  to  attend 
meeting  but  once  in  about  two  months ;  never- 
theless I  have  had  a  very  nice  time  at  home  ; 
sometimes,  but  not  often,  feeling  a  little  worn  by 
the  pressure  of  long-continued  suffering  and  de- 
bility, but  mostly  enabled  to  look  on  the  bright 
side  so  entirely  as  to  lose  sight  of  any  other.  I 
have  had  rather  more  time  for  reading  than 
ability,  but  have  been  looking  over  Macaulay's 
History  a  little,  rather  more  for  the  fascination 
of  his  narratives  than  dependence  upon  either 

his  facts  or  conclusions.    Setting  aside  natural 
12® 


138 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  35. 


preferences,  I  don't  like  his  attacks  on  Friends. 
I  think  that — even  if  he  disapproved  of  their 
doctrines,  and  in  some  instances  of  their  actions, 
which  would  be  very  natural — he  might  do 
justice  to  the  purity  of  their  lives,  to  their  self- 
denying  and  heroic  adherence  to  what  they  be- 
lieved to  be  right,  and  to  the  high  standard 
which  they  raised  in  that  dark  time — a  standard 
to  which  the  Christian  world,  as  it  advances  in 
purity  and  spirituality,  is  constantly  coming 
nearer.  I  am  not  at  all  sectarian,  but  I  do  like 
to  see  a  man  capable  of  real,  honest,  earnest  ap- 
preciation of  goodness,  and  of  elevation  of  feeling 
and  character,  wherever  he  meets  it,  and  not 
going  about  with  a  Mephistopheles-sneer  on  his 
countenance,  at  every  thing  which  is  at  variance 
with  policy  and  conventionalism. 

I  have  been  quite  interested  in  a  little  I  have 
read  of  Mitchell's  Lectures  on  Astronomy.  The 
vastness  of  the  field  opened  is  quite  startling.  I 
like  Mitchell's  enthusiasm,  too — I  like  any  one 
to  go  heart  and  soul  into  whatever  they  under- 
take. There  is  something,  so  ennobling  in  the 
study  of  all  the  works  of  the  Creator,  and  then 


JEt.  35.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  139 

when  we  turn  from  the  overwhelming  views 
of  the  might,  majesty,  and  power  displayed  in 
them,  of  which  the  utmost  stretch  of  our  intel- 
lect can  not  conceive— to  the  feeling  that  He  is 
our  Father — that  He  cares  even  for  the  sparrows 
— that  He  numbers  the  very  hairs  of  our  heads 
— how  the  soul  is  bowed  in  the  deepest  humilia- 
tion, while  it  may  be  animated  by  the  most  per- 
fect trust. 

I  had  such  a  sweet  dream  the  other  night.  I 
thought  I  was  at  meeting,  of  which  privilege  I 
have  been  much  deprived,  and  that  an  exhorta- 
tion was  given  to  trust  in  the  Saviour  at  all 
times,  to  lean  upon  Him  in  all  our  hours  of 
trial,  concluding  with  the  words,  "  and  then  shall 
we  be  enabled,  in  all  truth  and  sincerity,  to  ac- 
knowledge, that  1  He  doeth  all  things  well.'  "  I 
can  not  express  to  thee  the  force  and  sweetness 
with  which  this  dwelt  upon  my  mind  for  a  long 
time,  and  is  constantly  recurring. 

1856. 

My  Dear  Friend, 

I  do  not  know  that  a  letter  from  me  will  be 
of  any  value,  still,  as  a  token  of  affectionate  re- 


140  MEMOIR    OF  [^Et.  35. 

membrance,  it  may  not  be  entirely  unacceptable, 
though  I  may  acknowledge  that  I  feel  too  weak 
and  too  poor  to  be  worthy  of  being  remembered. 
It  was  a  real  trial  to  me  that  I  was  not  able  to 
see  thee  before  thou  left,  but  I  was  unexpectedly 
taken  sick  and  have  never  been  quite  well  since, 
though  I  have  no  disease  now,  and  am  only  suf- 
fering from  great  debility.  I  have,  therefore, 
been  much  shut  out  from  intercourse  with  my 
friends,  which  I  feel  a  good  deal.  However,  I 
must  not  say  any  thing  which  seems  in  the  least 
to  breathe  the  language  of  complaint,  for  truly  I 
have  often  been  led  to  feel  that  my  cup  runneth 
over  with  blessings,  and  of  late  the  feeling  of 
my  unworthiness  of  them  has  been  particularly 
strong.  In  my  quiet  seclusion  not  only  have 
my  mercies  been  brought  into  view,  but  also 
my  mistakes  and  missteppings,  which,  though  I 
believe  they  were  not  willful,  might  in  a  great 
measure,  no  doubt,  have  been  avoided  had.  I  kept 
more  close  to  my  Guide  and  more  low  before 
Him,  and  therefore  minister  deep  humiliation. 

While  feeling  a  good  deal  discouraged  this 
morning,  depressed  with  a  consciousness  of  the 


^Et.  35.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  141 

little  progress  I  had  made  and  the  clinging  of 
infirmity  to  every  thing,  I  read  in  the  accounts 
of  the  miracles  of  our  Saviour  the  tender  and 
ready  mercy  with  which  He  helped  all  who  came 
to  Him — how  He  encouraged  the  fearful  disciples 
in  the  storm  with  the  words.  1  Be  of  good  cheer. 
It  is  I — be  not  afraid/  and  only  required  that 
they  who  would  be  healed  should  believe  in 
Him.  I  thought,  in  reading  the  words  1  accord- 
ing to  your  faith  be  it  unto  you,'  that  it  was  not 
pleasing  in  His  sight  that  we  should  sink  down 
in  discouragement,  but,  rather,  casting  ourselves 
on  His  mercy  and  trusting  in  it,  press  onward  in 
our  course,  believing  that  He  is  still  able  and 
willing  to  succor  them  that  are  tempted.  I  hope 
all  is  well  with  thee,  my  dear  friend,  that  thy 
health  is  good,  and  that  thou  art  favored  to  dwell 
in  the  quiet  habitation.  It  would  be  a  great  sat- 
isfaction to  us  if  we  could  hear  from  thee  directly 
and  know  how  it  is  with  thee.  Still,  all  the  dis- 
pensations of  Divine  Providence  we  know  are  in 
unerring  wisdom  and  unfailing  love,  and  we  may 
safely  trust  ourselves  and  our  friends  to  that. 
Wilt  thou  remember  me  when  it  is  well  with 


142 


M E M OIR  OF 


[JEt.  35. 


thee,  with  desires  that  I  may  be  thoroughly 
cleansed  and  purified,  that  self  may  be  of  no 
reputation,  and  that  instead  of  going  on  my  way 
in  so  feeble  and  halting  a  manner,  I  may  be 
made  strong  to  labor — to  do  or  to  suffer  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  our  blessed  Master  ? 

Yery  affectionately  thy  friend. 

To  a  friend  on  the  death  of  her  father : 

3  mo.,  12th,  1856. 

I  am  unable  to  come  to  you,  having  been  in 
very  feeble  health  for  some  time  past,  and  now 
being  completely  disqualified  for  exertion ;  but 
I  have  felt  so  much  at  hearing  of  the  sorrows 
which  have  been  permitted  to  come  upon  you, 
that  I  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  my  ear- 
nest and  tender  sympathy,  and  my  sincere  de- 
sire that  He  who  doth  not  willingly  afflict  His 
children,  may  prove  Himself  to  be  in  truth  the 
Father  of  mercies  and  the  God  of  all  consola- 
tion. It  is  an  abiding  comfort  which  the  Chris- 
tian possesses,  to  be  able  in  the  deepest  affliction 
to  lean  on  the  breast  of  the  Beloved — to  hear 
His  voice  in  the  storm  saying,  '  It  is  I — be  not 
afraid.'    It  seems  to  me  that  I  can  in  some  meas- 


JEt.  35.]       ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  143 


ure  feel  how  nature  shrinks  from  the  breaking 
of  these  tenderest  of  ties,  and  how  keenly  it  will 
suffer ;  but  it  is  a  continual  comfort  to  know  that 
He  whose  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  works 
sees  every  pang  that  His  children  are  called  upon 
to  endure,  that  not  one  escapes  His  notice  and 
His  pity. 

May  your  reliance  be  on  Him  alone.  May 
He  be  with  you  in  the  furnace,  strengthening, 
comforting,  and  encouraging  you,  and  finally  en- 
abling you  to  make  the  acknowledgment  that 
1  He  hath  done  all  things  well.' 

I  have  never  met  with  thy  uncle's  family, 
but  if  it  would  not  be  deemed  intrusive  I  would 
like  to  convey  to  them  a  message  of  sincere  sym- 
pathy in  the  loss  they  have  sustained.  They 
have  an  abiding  consolation  in  the  knowledge, 
that  1  the  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.' 

I  am,  with  the  truest  and  most  affectionate 
sympathy,  thy  friend. 

In  a  letter  to  a  dear  relative,  written  a 
short  time  before  her  death,  she  says  ; 

I  am  in  a  continual  state  of  wonder  at  the  en- 


144 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Ml  35. 


joyment  and  blessings  which  are  heaped  upon 
me.  My  eyes  often  fill  with  tears,  at  this  feeling 
of  the  marvelous  loving-kindness  of  our  merciful 
Father.  Sometimes,  I  fear,  I  do  not  sufficiently 
feel  my  own  poverty,  and  lowness,  and  prone- 
ness  to  evil,  but  this  vision  of  the  loving  and 
compassionate  Saviour,  ready  to  save  to  the  utter- 
most,  all  those  who  come  to  God  by  Him,  seems 
to  shut  out  every  other  view. 

Her  watchful  care  over  her  own  spirit 
still  continued,  as  the  following  extract 
from  her  diary  will  show : 

2  mo.,  26th,  1856.  I  believe  it  is  not  safe  for 
me  to  be  trusted  with  health  and  strength,  under 
some  plea  or  other  I  am  so  apt  to  use  them  for 
my  own  purposes.  Lately  I  have  lost  my  hold 
on  the  pearl ;  in  my  attempts  to  promote  the 
comfort  of  my  family,  the  quiet  of  my  spirit  has 
been  disturbed.  Some  of  this  is  doubtless  owing 
to  physical  weakness,  but  with  every  temptation, 
there  is  a  way  of  escape ;  there  is  never  any  need 
to  sin. 

Another  thinor  I  have  suffered  loss  from — enter- 


Mt  35.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  14o 


ing  into  the  business  of  the  day,  without  seeking 
to  have  my  spirit  quieted  and  directed.  So  many 
things  press  upon  me,  this  is  sometimes  neglected  ; 
shame  to  me  that  it  should  be  so. 

Some  things  I  must  bear  in  mind :  1st,  Always 
to  seek  this  daily  retirement,  and  earnestly  search 
into  my  faults.  2d,  To  talk  less,  and  carefully 
to  weigh  my  words,  so  that  they  may  minister 
grace  to  the  hearer.  Let  me  be  careful,  without 
display  or  pretension,  wrhen  I  do  speak,  to  do 
some  good,  if  it  is  only  to  manifest  kind  feeling 
toward  others.  3d,  and  this  is  of  great  impor- 
tance, to  watch  carefully — now  I  am  so  weak — 
not  to  over  fatigue  myself,  because  then  I  can  not 
contribute  to  the  pleasure  of  others  ;  and  a  placid 
face  and  a  gentle  tone  will  make  my  family 
more  happy  than  a  ay  thing  else  I  can  do  for 
them.  Our  own  will  gets  sadly  into  the  perform- 
ance of  our  duties  sometimes.  4th,  Almost  above 
every  thing  else,  to  agonize  for  a  loving  spirit 
toward  all. 

To  a  sister: — 

Baltimore,  2  mo.,  1856. 

Last  First  day  I  went  to  meeting,  a  privilege 


140 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  35. 


I  had  not  before  enjoyed  in  two  months.  Much 
to  my  astonishment,  I  felt  called  upon  to  suppli- 
cate for  those  who  felt  themselves  only  to  be 
penitent  sinners,  to  beseech  that  we  might  all  be 
bound  together,  so  as  to  know  what  it  is  to 
dwell  in  love,  being  so  deeply  penetrated  with  a 
sense  of  our  own  infirmities,  that  we  might  not 
dare  to  look  on  those  of  others  with  any  other 
feeling  than  that  of  compassionate  love. 

This  was  the  last  time  she  was  able  to 
attend  meeting,  and  thus  was  her  testi- 
mony borne  to  the  necessity  of  that  "  char- 
ity which  thinketh  no  evil,"  which  she  had 
so  long  endeavored  to  exemplify  in  her 
daily  life. 

To  one  of  her  young  friends  she  sent 
the  following  note  : — 

Baltimore,  3  mo.,  1st,  1856. 
Do  not  think  me  intrusive,  dear  ,  if  I  ven- 
ture to  tell  thee  that  I  have  been  thinking  of 
thee  for  some  days  past  with  very  tender  and 
earnest  solicitude  for  thy  well-being  in  every 


JEt.  35.]        ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  147 

way,  and,  particularly,  that  by  implicit  obedience 
to  the  dictates  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  thy  own 
heart,  thou  mayst  become  altogether  what  thy 
tender  Father,  thy  compassionate  and  loving 
Saviour  would  have  thee  to  be,  even  thoroughly 
conformed  to  His  precepts — thoroughly  submis- 
sive to  His  will  in  all  things — thoroughly  regen- 
erated, so  that  neither  the  love  of  the  world,  nor 
of  any  thing  in  it,  may  draw  thy  mind  away  from 
His  love — but  that  thy  affections  may  truly  be 
set  on  things  above. 

I  do  fully  acknowledge,  dear  •  ,  that  I  feel 

myself  to  be  weaker  than  the  weakest,  and  less 
than  the  least.  I  am  humbled  in  the  very  dust, 
under  a  consciousness  of  falling  very  far  short 
of  the  standard  to  which  I  desire  and  strive  to 
attain  ;  but  I  have  craved  for  thee,  as  for  my 
own  soul,  that  we  may  be  found  very  diligent 
in  waiting  daily  upon  the  Lord  for  light  and 
strength,  and  be  strictly  obedient  to  what  He 
shows  us  to  be  our  duty  in  the  smallest  partic- 
ular, and  that,  feeling,  as  we  must,  our  utter  in- 
ability to  do  any  good  thing,  we  may  seek  most 


148 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mk  35. 


earnestly,  most  diligently,  for  the  help  which  He 
will  assuredly  give. 

I  can  not  express  the  tender  love  with  which 
my  mind  is  drawn  out  in  these  earnest  desires 
for  that  which  will  secure  not  only  thy  eternal 
welfare,  but  promote  thy  happiness  here ;  for 
truly  there  can  be  no  enjoyment  on  earth  com- 
parable to  that  which  is  vouchsafed  to  the  obe- 
dient children  of  our  heavenly  Father,  who 
truly  realize,  amid  all  the  trials  which  are  insep- 
arable from  this  life,  that  "in  His  presence  is 
fullness  of  joy,  and  at  His  right  hand  there  are 
pleasures  for  evermore." 

May  we  seek  to  experience  this,  dear   ; 

may  we  be  found  constantly  watching  and  wait- 
ing to  know  His  will,  and  constantly  striving  to 
fulfill  it,  that  we  may  glorify  Him  here,  and 
finally  be  received  into  His  everlasting  peace. 

And  again  to  another,  for  whose  best  in- 
terests she  felt  solicitous  : — 

Baltimore,  3  mo,  16th,  1856. 
Thou  hast  been  brought  before  my  mind,  I 
humbly  trust,  by  the  good  Remembrancer,  with 


JEt  35.] 


ELIZABETH    T.    KING.  149 


very  earnest  desires  tliat  thou,  and  I,  and  all 
of  us,  may  know  what  it  is  to  experience  a 
growth  in  the  Truth — that  we  may  in  no  degree 
slacken  our  diligence,  but  press  forward  until 
we  attain  that  perfect  stature  in  Christ  Jesus, 
that  thorough  purification  from  the  spirit  of  the 
world  and  the  love  of  self  which  the  holy  Head 
of  the  Church  requires  of  us,  so  that  we  may 
be  heartily  willing  to  become  fools  for  His 
sake. 

In  thinking  of  thee  this  morning,  the  injunc- 
tion of  the  Apostle  was  brought  to  my  mind, 
and  perhaps  I  may  revive  it  for  thy  encourage- 
ment:  11  Watch  ye;  stand  fast  in  the  faith:  quit 
you  like  men  ;  be  strong."1 

Very  shortly  before  her  decease  she 
rode  into  the  city,  with  some  effort,  to  see 
her  husband's  only  sister,  to  whom  she  was 
much  attached,  and  spent  the  morning 
with  her  ;  giving  the  most  detailed  direc- 
tions as  to  the  education  of  her  three 
daughters  in  case  she  should  be  taken 
from  them.    Little  did  she  then  suppose 


150 


MEMOIR  OF 


[JEt.  35. 


that  she  to  whom  she  was  in  some  measure 
intrusting  the  care  of  her  beloved  offspring 
would,  within  a  few  weeks,  also  be  called 
away  in  the  bloom  of  life.  The  following 
is  the  last  record  in  her  sister's  diary,  and 
will  show  the  feeling  which  subsisted  be- 
tween them. 

My  heart  bleeds  at  the  sad  record  I  here  make 
of  my  beloved  sister's  death,  which  took  place  on 
First  day  last,  the  23d  inst.,  after  giving  birth  to 
a  son,  who  survived  her  but  a  few  days.  "What 
else  can  we  say  but  that  "  the  Lord  gave,  and 
the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord?" 

She  sought  the  Lord  who  bought  her  with  His 
own  blood,  and  obeyed  Him  through  life,  doing 
even  that  from  which  her  timid  nature  shrank. 
Her  sweet,  angelic  countenance,  even  amidst  in- 
tense suffering,  can  never  be  forgotton ;  and,  oh ! 
may  her  example  and  all  her  excellent  precepts 
be  an  incentive  to  me  to  walk  in  the  same  path, 
and  to  mind  the  same  things ;  and  in  view  of 
the  uncertainty  of  my  own  life,  may  my  thoughts 


JBL  35.]       ELIZABETH   T.    KING.  151 


be  so  directed,  and  a  preparation  so  made,  that, 
come  life  or  death,  I  may  be  fitted  for  the  mes- 
sage, and  have  no  fears,  but  my  mind  be  kept  in 
perfect  peace  because  it  is  stayed  on  Thee. 

The  following  is  the  last  entry  in  her 
journal : — 

3  mo.,  23J,  1856.  I  have  an  humble  hope  that 
the  day  is  dawning,  that  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness will  arise,  with  healing  in  His  wings. 

Oh,  to  be  kept  little,  and  low,  and  loving,  self 
kept  out  of  sight,  "  made  of  no  reputation  ;"  and 
to  feel  that  love,  which  has  at  times  made  hard 
things  easy,  and  bitter  things  sweet,  when  I  have 
felt  the  everlasting  Arms  underneath. 

Is  not  the  injunction  now  given,  "Fear  not, 
thou  worm  Jacob?"  Enable  me,  I  beseech  Thee, 
dearest  Father,  to  look  solely  at  the  blessings 
where  with  Thou  hast  blessed  me  so  abundantly  ; 
enable  me  to  trust,  that,  as  Thou  carest  for  the 
sparrows,  and  feedest  the  ravens,  Thou  wilt  also 
care  for  me ;  and,  oh !  enable  me  to  bear,  in  pa- 
tient and  trusting  submission,  all  Thou  seest  meet 
to  lay  upon  me. 


152 


MEMOIR  OF 


[Mb  35. 


She  was  taken  more  unwell  on  the 
same  day,  but  the  suffering  was  soon  re- 
lieved, and  all  danger  seemed  to  be  over. 
On  her  husband  going  to  her  bedside,  and 
expressing  his  thankfulness  that  she  was 
doing  so  well,  she  shook  her  head,  and 
told  him  that  within  the  past  hour  she  had 
seen  heaven,  "and  what,"  she  added,  with 
a  sweet  smile,  "if  I  tell  thee,  that  I  feel  as 
if  nothing  can  draw  me  back  but  thee  and 
the  children  ?" 

She  was  very  soon  taken  alarmingly  ill, 
and  continued  to  grow  weaker  until  she 
gently  breathed  her  last,  while  a  solemn 
but  sweet  stillness  pervaded  the  room,  as 
if  those  who  watched  over  her  were  per- 
mitted to  accompany  the  ransomed  spirit 
to  the  entrance  of  the  Haven  of  Rest. 

And  now,  having  followed  her  through 
life,  having  seen  her  living  desire  to  be 
conformed  to  her  Master's  will — her  fer- 
vency of  spirit,  and  diligence  in  perform- 


JEt  35.]        ELIZABETH    T .    KING.  153 

ing  whatever  was  required — may  we  be  en- 
couraged to  place  our  trust  in  the  Lord, 
who  supported  her,  and  who  will  supply 
all  the  need  of  those  who  trust  in  Him. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  adopt  her  own 
words,  in  speaking  of  the  death  of  Stephen 
Grellet  :— 

I  do  sympathize  with  thee,  and  with  all,  in 
the  great  loss  which  has  been  sustained,  but  my 
mind  has  been  so  full  of  the  unspeakably  blessed 
and  glorious  change  to  our  departed  friend,  that 
I  have  been  scarcely  able  to  bear  the  heavenly 
vision.  No  more  change,  no  more  sorrow  for 
him  ! — for  ever  with  the  Lord — satisfied  on  awak- 
ing in  His  likeness — no  longer  beholding  Him 
through  the  veil  of  fleshly  infirmity,  but  "  face 
to  face" — free  to  mingle  with  the  spirits  of  the 
just  made  perfect — no  longer  compelled  to  bear 
with  the  imperfections  even  of  the  good — no 
longer  wounded  with  the  sins  or  the  sufferings 
of  others — but  at  rest  on  the  bosom  of  the  Sa- 
viour, where  God  himself  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  his  eyes,    I  was  thinking  of  Chris- 


154 


MEMOIR,  ETC. 


[^Et.  35. 


tian's  passage  over  the  river;  but  what  a  con- 
voy must  have  awaited  the  release  of  this  puri- 
fied spirit; — with  what  triumphant  notes  the 
golden  harps  must  have  welcomed  his  entrance 
into  the  Eternal  City !  Now  let  us  seek  to 
mourn  him  as  he  would  wish  to  be  lamented, 
by  looking  not  at  our  loss,  but  at  bis  gain — by 
seeking  after  that  earnest  dedication  of  which  he 
was  so  bright  an  example,  that  we  may  be  en- 
abled, in  our  measure,  to  glorify  Him  who  did 
such  great  things  for  our  beloved  friend,  and  is 
ready  to  grant  us,  also,  the  good  gifts  of  His 
Holy  Spirit,  as  we  are  concerned  to  seek  them 
as  earnestly,  and  employ  them  as  faithfully,  as 
was  the  case  with  him. 


THE  END. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1  1012  01040  9052 


